Eocetus
Sign in to saveEocetus (from Ancient Greek ἠώς (ēṓs), meaning "dawn", and Latin cetus, meaning "whale", and thus, "dawn whale") is an extinct protocetid early whale known from the early-late Eocene (Bartonian, ) Giushi Formation in Gebel Mokattam, (, paleocoordinates ) outside Cairo, Egypt. Fossil remains have also been discovered in the Aridal Formation of the Sahara Desert in southwestern Morocco.
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- taxon name
- Eocetus
- start time
- 40400000-0
- end time
- 37200000-0
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5 sectionsContents
- Discovery and taxonomy
- Previously assigned specimens and taxa
- References
- Notes
- Sources
Eocetus (from Ancient Greek ἠώς (ēṓs), meaning "dawn", and Latin cetus, meaning "whale", and thus, "dawn whale") is an extinct protocetid early whale known from the early-late Eocene (Bartonian, ) Giushi Formation in Gebel Mokattam, (, paleocoordinates ) outside Cairo, Egypt. Fossil remains have also been discovered in the Aridal Formation of the Sahara Desert in southwestern Morocco.
The type specimen was first named by Fraas as Mesocetus schweinfurthi. However, the name Mesocetus was previously used causing a change to the species name to Eocetus schweinfurthi. Since the genus was first described in the early 20th century, several other specimens, mostly isolated vertebrae, have been attributed to Eocetus, but the taxonomic status of these widely distributed specimens remain disputed.
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