Masracetus
| Masracetus Temporal range: Late Eocene | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Cetacea |
| Suborder: | Archaeoceti |
| Family: | Basilosauridae |
| Genus: | Masracetus Gingerich 2007 |
| Species | |
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Masracetus (from Arabic Masr, "Egypt", and Greek ketos, "whale")[1] is an extinct genus of basilosaurid ancient whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian, 37.2 to 33.9 million years ago) of Egypt.[2]
Masracetus was briefly described in an addendum by Gingerich 2007 and is known from just an assemblage of vertebrae and a poorly reconstructed skull from 1908. The lumbar vertebrae are large but relatively short (anteroposteriorly) compared to those of other archaeocetes; the diameter is almost the same as for Basilosaurus isis but the length is less than half of the latter. Masracetus is larger than Cynthiacetus.[3]
The species name honours Richard Markgraf, palaeontologist Ernst Stromer's fossil collector, who collected the type specimen in 1905.[1]
Masracetus' type locality is the Birket Qarun Formation in Dimê (29°30′N 30°42′E / 29.5°N 30.7°E, paleocoordinates 24°54′N 26°36′E / 24.9°N 26.6°E) north of lake Birket Qarun,[4] but specimens have also been found in the Qattara Depression and Fayum.[5][6][7][8]
Notes
- 1 2 Gingerich 2007, Etymology, p. 375
- ↑ Masracetus in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ↑ Gingerich 2007, p. 375
- ↑ Dimeh (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ↑ Masracetus markgrafi in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ↑ Qattara Depression (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ↑ Minqar Tibaghbagh (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ↑ Minqar el-Hut (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
References
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Wikispecies has information related to: Masracetus |
- Gingerich, Philip D (2007). "Stromerius nidensis, new archaeocete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Upper Eocene Qasr El-Sagha Formation, Fayum, Egypt" (PDF). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology 31 (13): 363–78. OCLC 214233870.
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