Himalayacetus
species of mammal (fossil)
Himalayacetus is an extinct aquatic cetacean known from fossils found in the Himachal Pradesh, India.[2] It lived in the remnants of the ancient Tethys Ocean during the early Eocene. This extends the fossil record of whales by some 3.5 million years.[3]
Himalayacetus Temporal range: Early Eocene,
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Family: | †Ambulocetidae |
Genus: | †Himalayacetus Bajpai & Gingerich, 1998[1] |
Species: | †H. subathuensis
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Binomial name | |
Himalayacetus subathuensis Bajpai & Gingerich, 1998[1]
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Himalayacetus lived in the coastline of the ancient Tethys Ocean before the Indian plate collided with Eurasia. It is only known from a single jaw fossil, which makes exact comparisons with other cetaceans almost impossible.[4]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bajpai & Gingerich 1998.
- ↑ Kuthar Nala (Eocene of India) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved June 2013
- ↑ Bajpai & Gingerich 1998, Abstract
- ↑ Thewissen JGM. "Ambulocetidae: The First Costal Whales". Archived from the original on 2013-04-03. Retrieved 1 February 2013.