Though the best-dated remains are Bartonian in age, some could suggest its presence during the Lutetian and Priabonian.
Skeletal material of Antaecetus aithai
A live reconstruction of Basilotritus uheni (now Pachycetus paulsonii).
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Artiodactyla
Infraorder:
Cetacea
Family:
†Basilosauridae
Subfamily:
†Pachycetinae Gingerich, Amane, & Zouhri, 2022
Genera
Antaecetus
Pachycetus
Supayacetus?
Pachycetinae is an extinct subfamily of basilosaurid cetaceans that lived during the middle Eocene. The best-dated remains stem from Bartonian strata, but some finds suggest that they could have first appeared during the Lutetian and may have survived until the Priabonian. Fossils of pachycetines are chiefly known from the southern United States, Ukraine, Morocco and Germany, among others. They differ from other basilosaurids in having pachyostotic and osteosclerotic vertebrae and ribs, making them denser and heavier by comparison. Based on this it has been suggested that these whales lived in shallow waters and that these thickened bones act as a buoyancy control as seen in sirenians. Analysis of the teeth suggests that pachycetines had a varying diet, with the robust teeth of the larger Pachycetus indicating that it possibly fed on sharks, whereas the more gracile teeth of Antaecetus suggest a diet of smaller prey items. The clade currently only includes two genera, Antaecetus and Pachycetus, but a 2023 study suggests that the Peruvian Supayacetus may at least be a close relative.
Pachycetinae is an extinct subfamily of basilosaurid cetaceans that lived during the middle Eocene. The best-dated remains stem from Bartonian strata,...
and from some other basilosaurids — namely, members of the subfamily Pachycetinae — but no other whales approach the levels of BMI seen in Perucetus. Bianucci...
Saghacetus Genus Stromerius Genus Supayacetus Genus Zygorhiza Subfamily Pachycetinae Genus Pachycetus Genus Antaecetus Wikimedia Commons has media related...
additional ten lumbar vertebrae. The same team further established the clade Pachycetinae based on shared characteristics of the skeleton that distinguish Antaecetus...
together with Antaecetus these animals would become the basis of the family Pachycetinae. Given the limited material known of this genus, its biology is only...
basilosaurids, except for a 2023 study that places it within the family Pachycetinae close to Neoceti. Supayacetus is monotypic, meaning the genus includes...
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