Phiomicetus
Sign in to savePhiomicetus is a genus of protocetid whale that lived between 43 and 42 million years ago during the Lutetian (middle Eocene) period in what is now Egypt. It had powerful jaws and large teeth that would have allowed it to hunt and tear large prey.
Wikidata facts
Show 2 more facts
- Commons category
- Phiomicetus
- taxon name
- Phiomicetus
via Wikidata · CC0
~2 min read
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Discovery and naming
- Description
- See also
- References
Phiomicetus is a genus of protocetid whale that lived between 43 and 42 million years ago during the Lutetian (middle Eocene) period in what is now Egypt. It had powerful jaws and large teeth that would have allowed it to hunt and tear large prey.
==Discovery and naming== Phiomicetus was unearthed in 2008 at Al Amaim, which lies on the southern margin of Wadi Al-Ruwayan in the Fayum Depression, in the Western Desert of Egypt. The holotype specimen, MUVP500, is the partial skeleton of a single individual that includes the cranium, right mandible, an incomplete left mandible, several teeth, fifth cervical vertebra, sixth thoracic vertebra, sixth left rib, and an isolated right rib. Phiomicetus is the first extinct whale to be discovered, scientifically described, and named by a team of Arab paleontologists.