Biology:Masracetus
| Masracetus | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | †Basilosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Dorudontinae |
| 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] but it is suggested that the former might be synonymized as a junior synonym with the latter.[4]
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,[5] but specimens have also been found in the Qattara Depression and Fayum.[6][7][8][9]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gingerich 2007, Etymology, p. 375
- ↑ Masracetus in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ↑ Gingerich 2007, p. 375
- ↑ Martínez-Cáceres, M.; Lambert, O.; De Muizon, C. (2017). "The anatomy and phylogenetic affinities of Cynthiacetus peruvianus, a large Dorudon-like basilosaurid (Cetacea, Mammalia) from the late Eocene of Peru". Geodiversitas, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle Paris 39 (1): 7–163. doi:10.5252/g2017n1a1. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03424280/file/181-2017%20Marti%CC%81nez-Ca%CC%81ceres%20et%20al..pdf.
- ↑ 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
- Gingerich, Philip D (2007). "Stromerius nidensis, new archaeocete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Upper Eocene Qasr El-Sagha Formation, Fayum, Egypt". Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology 31 (13): 363–78. OCLC 214233870. http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57499/1/Vol%2031%20No%2013%20final%2012-19-07.pdf.
Wikidata ☰ Q6005481 entry
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