| Taxon | Masracetus |
|---|---|
| Authority | Gingerich 2007 |
| Subdivision ranks | Species |
| Subdivision |
|
Masracetus (from Arabic Masr, "Egypt", and Greek ketos, "whale")[1] is an extinct genus of basilosaurid ancient whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian, ) 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 (29.5°N 30.7°E, paleocoordinates 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
- ^ Gingerich 2007, pp. Etymology, p. 375
- ^ . 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. S2CID 90142285
- ^ . Retrieved July 2013.
- ^ . Retrieved July 2013.
- ^ . Retrieved July 2013.
- ^ . Retrieved July 2013.
- ^ . 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