Masracetus (from Arabic Masr, "Egypt", and Greek ketos, "whale")[1] is an extinct genus of basilosaurid ancient whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian, 37.2 to 33.9 million years ago) of Egypt.[2]
Life restoration
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°30′N30°42′E / 29.5°N 30.7°E / 29.5; 30.7, paleocoordinates 24°54′N26°36′E / 24.9°N 26.6°E / 24.9; 26.6) north of lake Birket Qarun,[5] but specimens have also been found in the Qattara Depression and Fayum.[6][7][8][9]
^ abGingerich 2007, Etymology, p. 375
^Masracetus in the Paleobiology Database. 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" (PDF). Geodiversitas, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle Paris. 39 (1): 7–163. doi:10.5252/g2017n1a1. S2CID 90142285.
^Dimeh (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
^Masracetus markgrafi in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
^Qattara Depression (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
^Minqar Tibaghbagh (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
^Minqar el-Hut (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
Masracetus (from Arabic Masr, "Egypt", and Greek ketos, "whale") is an extinct genus of basilosaurid ancient whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian...
Cynthiacetus peruvianus Genus Dorudon Dorudon atrox Dorudon serratus Genus MasracetusMasracetus markgrafi Genus Saghacetus Saghacetus osiris Genus Stromerius Stromerius...
Ancalecetus Genus Chrysocetus Genus Cynthiacetus Genus Dorudon Genus Masracetus Genus Ocucajea Genus Saghacetus Genus Stromerius Genus Supayacetus Genus...
similar to Masracetus from Egypt (which was also referred to Z. brachyspondylus in the past) and may represent either a species of Masracetus or a distinct...
described and now vanished specimens). Cynthiacetus was smaller than Masracetus. The South American species C. peruvianus, the first archaeocete to be...
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