Chrysocetus
| Chrysoceus Temporal range: Eocene | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Cetacea |
| Family: | †Basilosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Dorudontinae |
| Genus: | †Chrysocetus Uhen & Gingerich 2001 |
| Species: | †C. healyorum Uhen & Gingerich 2001 |
Chrysocetus (from Greek chrysous, "golden", and ketos, "whale", in reference to the gold-colored bones of the type specimen)[1] is an extinct early whale described on the basis of a single subadult specimen from the late middle or early late Eocene of Orangeburg County, South Carolina (33°18′N 80°24′W / 33.3°N 80.4°W, paleocoordinates 33°18′N 72°30′W / 33.3°N 72.5°W).[2]
Chrysocetus is known from the skeleton of a juvenile individual: a partial skull with lower jaws, ten teeth, and the hyoid apparatus; 21 vertebrae, some ribs and a sternum; a partial left forelimb; and partial innominates.[1]
Chrysocetus is similar to Zygorhiza except that it lacks the denticles on the cingula of the upper premolars characteristic of Zygorhiza. The premolars of Chrysocetus have smoother enamel than other dorudontines and are more gracile than those of Dorudon.[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Uhen & Gingerich 2001, p. 3
- ↑ Santee Portland Cement Co. quarry (Eocene of the United States) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved April 2013.
References
- Uhen, Mark D.; Gingerich, Philip D. (January 2001). "New genus of dorudontine archaeocete (Cetacea) from the middle-to-late Eocene of South Carolina". Marine Mammal Science 17 (1): 1–34. doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2001.tb00979.x. OCLC 204061291. Retrieved September 2013.
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