Himalayacetus
Template:Use dmy dates Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
Himalayacetus is an extinct genus of carnivorous aquatic mammal of the family Ambulocetidae. The holotype was found in Himachal Pradesh, India, (Script error: No such module "Coordinates".: paleocoordinates Script error: No such module "Coordinates".)[1] in what was the remnants of the ancient Tethys Ocean during the Early Eocene. This makes Himalayacetus the oldest archaeocete known, extending the fossil record of whales some 3.5 million years.[2]
Himalayacetus lived in the ancient coastline of the ancient Tethys Ocean before the Indian Plate had collided with the Cimmerian coast. Like Gandakasia, Himalayacetus is only known from a single jaw fragment, making comparisons to other ambulocetids difficult.[3]
Description
Upon its discovery, Himalayacetus was described as a pakicetid because the dentary has a small mandibular canal and a dentition similar to Pakicetus.[2] Script error: No such module "Footnotes". assigned Himalaycetus to the ambulocetids.
Etymology
Himalayacetus was named by Script error: No such module "Footnotes".. Its type is Himalayacetus subathuensis after the Himalayas, cetus, "whale", and the Subathu Formation, the type locality.[4]
Taxonomy
It was considered monophyletic by Uhen (2010). It was assigned to Pakicetidae by Bajpai and Gingerich (1998) and McLeod and Barnes (2008); and to Ambulocetidae by Thewissen et al. (2001) and Uhen (2010).[5]
Notes
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Template:Paleodb. Retrieved June 2013.
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Footnotes".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Footnotes".
- ↑ Template:Paleodb. Retrieved June 2013.
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
References
<templatestyles src="Refbegin/styles.css" />
- Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".