Saghacetus Explained
Saghacetus is an extinct genus of basilosaurid early whale, fossils of which have been found in the Upper Eocene (middle Priabonian,) Qasr el Sagha Formation, Egypt (paleocoordinates).[1] [2]
Discovery
In 1879, German botanist Georg August Schweinfurth spent many years exploring Africa and eventually discovered the first archaeocete whale in Egypt. He visited Qasr el Sagha in 1884 and 1886 and missed the now famous "Zeuglodon Valley" with a few kilometres. German palaeontologist Wilhelm Barnim Dames described the material,[3] including a well-preserved dentary which is the type specimen of Zeuglodon osiris.
The generic name Saghacetus was established by to group the ancient species Dorudon osiris, D. zitteli, D. sensitivius and D. elliotsmithii on a single species, Saghacetus osiris. This species is distinguished from other members of the subfamily Dorudontinae by its smaller size and the slightly elongated proximal lumbar and caudal vertebrae.
Description
Saghacetus was a small whale, reaching in length and in body mass. It was smaller than its contemporary Stromerius, both of which are smaller than the older Dorudon.
References
- Dames . Wilhelm Barnim . Wilhelm Dames . Ein Epistropheus von Zeuglodon sp . 1883a . Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin . 3 . September 22, 2013 .
- Dames . W. B. . Über eine tertiäre Wirbelthierfauna von der westlichen Insel des Birket-el-Qurūn im Fajum (Aepgypten) . 1883b . Sitzungsberichte der Königlich Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften . Jan-Mai 1883 . 129–153 . September 22, 2013 .
- Dames . W. B. . Wilhelm Dames . Ueber Zeuglodonten aus Aegypten und die Beziehungen der Archaeoceten zu den übrigen Cetaceen . 1894 . Geologische und Paläontologische Abhandlungen . Jena . 5 . 189–222 . September 22, 2013 . (plates)
- Gingerich . P. D. . Philip D. Gingerich . Marine Mammals (Cetacean and Sirenia) from the Eocene of Gebel Mokattam and Fayum, Egypt: Stratigraphy, Age, and Paleoenvironments . 1992 . University of Michigan Papers on Paleontology . 30 . 1–84 . 2027.42/48630 . 26941847 .
- Gingerich . P. D. . Stromerius nidensis, new archaeocete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Upper Eocene Qasr El-Sagha Formation, Fayum, Egypt . 2007 . Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology . 31 . 13 . 363–78 . 214233870 .
- Book: Uhen, M. D. . Mark D. Uhen
. Mark D. Uhen . Basilosaurids . 91–94 . Perrin . William F. . Wursig . Bernd . Thewissen . J.G.M. . Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals . 2nd . https://books.google.com/books?id=2rkHQpToi9sC&q=Basilosaurus&pg=PA93 . 2008 . Academic Press . 978-0-12-373553-9 .
- Waugh. D.A. . Thewissen . J.G.M. . The Pattern of Brain-size Change in the Early Evolution of Cetaceans . 2021 . PLOS ONE . 16. 9 . e0257803 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0257803. free. 34582492 . 8478358. 2021PLoSO..1657803W .
Notes and References
- . Retrieved May 2013.
- . Retrieved July 2013.
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