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Basilosaurus
Taxonomy
Basilosaurus was named by Harlan (1834) [Sepkoski's age data: T Eo-m-u T Eo-u Sepkoski's reference number: 1022]. Its type is Zygorhiza kochii. It was considered monophyletic by Uhen (2008) and Martinez-Cáceres and Muizon (2011).
It was replaced with Zeuglodon by Owen (1839), Muller (1849), Bronn (1853), Pictet (1853), Zittel (1894), Trouessart (1898) and Zittel (1925).
It was assigned to Prozeuglodontidae by Moustafa (1954); to Zeuglodontidae by Stromer (1908) and Mchedlidze (1970); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Cetaceamorpha by Spaulding et al. (2009); to Basilosaurinae by McKenna and Bell (1997), Uhen (1998), van Vliet (2004), Uhen (2004), McLeod and Barnes (2008), Uhen (2008), Uhen (2009), Schouten (2011), Gao and Ni (2015) and Mahdy et al. (2019); and to Basilosauridae by Cope (1867), Gill (1871), Hay (1902), Trouessart (1904), Palmer (1904), Miller (1923), Kellogg (1928), Hay (1930), Kellogg (1936), Simpson (1945), Sherman (1952), Halstead and Middleton (1972), Thurmond and Jones (1981), Hooker (1986), Carroll (1988), Benton (1993), Gingerich et al. (1997), Bergqvist et al. (1999), Thewissen et al. (2001), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Clementz et al. (2006), Fitzgerald (2010), Martinez-Cáceres and Muizon (2011), Gingerich (2012), Uhen (2013), El-kheir et al. (2013), Gingerich and Cappetta (2014), Boessenecker and Fordyce (2015), Martínez-Cáceres et al. (2017), Berta (2017), Uhen (2018), Zalmout et al. (2020) and Smith et al. (2021).
It was replaced with Zeuglodon by Owen (1839), Muller (1849), Bronn (1853), Pictet (1853), Zittel (1894), Trouessart (1898) and Zittel (1925).
It was assigned to Prozeuglodontidae by Moustafa (1954); to Zeuglodontidae by Stromer (1908) and Mchedlidze (1970); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Cetaceamorpha by Spaulding et al. (2009); to Basilosaurinae by McKenna and Bell (1997), Uhen (1998), van Vliet (2004), Uhen (2004), McLeod and Barnes (2008), Uhen (2008), Uhen (2009), Schouten (2011), Gao and Ni (2015) and Mahdy et al. (2019); and to Basilosauridae by Cope (1867), Gill (1871), Hay (1902), Trouessart (1904), Palmer (1904), Miller (1923), Kellogg (1928), Hay (1930), Kellogg (1936), Simpson (1945), Sherman (1952), Halstead and Middleton (1972), Thurmond and Jones (1981), Hooker (1986), Carroll (1988), Benton (1993), Gingerich et al. (1997), Bergqvist et al. (1999), Thewissen et al. (2001), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Clementz et al. (2006), Fitzgerald (2010), Martinez-Cáceres and Muizon (2011), Gingerich (2012), Uhen (2013), El-kheir et al. (2013), Gingerich and Cappetta (2014), Boessenecker and Fordyce (2015), Martínez-Cáceres et al. (2017), Berta (2017), Uhen (2018), Zalmout et al. (2020) and Smith et al. (2021).
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
Year | Name and author |
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1834 | Basilosaurus Harlan p. 403 figs. Plate XX |
1839 | Zeuglodon Owen p. 28 |
1842 | Zeuglodon De Kay p. 123 |
1845 | Hydrarchos Koch |
1845 | Hydrarchos harlani Koch |
1845 | Hydrargos Koch |
1845 | Hydrarchos harlani Koch p. 1 |
1849 | Hydrarchus Muller p. 3 |
1853 | Zeuglodon Bronn p. 763 |
1853 | Zeuglodon Pictet p. 376 |
1866 | Zeuglodon Haeckel figs. Plate VIII |
1867 | Basilosaurus Cope p. 144 |
1871 | Basilosaurus Gill p. 125 |
1873 | Zeuglodon puschii Brandt p. 112 |
1874 | Zeuglodon Brandt p. III |
1882 | Zugodon Scudder p. 357 |
1887 | Zeuglodon Lydekker p. 49 |
1890 | Zeuglodon Cope p. 602 |
1894 | Zeuglodon Zittel p. 167 |
1898 | Zeuglodon Trouessart p. 1009 |
1898 | Zeuglodon puschii Trouessart p. 1010 |
1902 | Basilosaurus Hay p. 586 |
1904 | Basilosaurus Palmer p. 134 |
1904 | Hydrarchos Palmer p. 334 |
1904 | Zeuglodon Palmer p. 715 |
1904 | Basilosaurus Trouessart p. 753 |
1904 | Basilosaurus puschi Trouessart p. 753 |
1906 | Alabamornis Abel pp. 450-458 |
1906 | Zeuglodon Andrews p. 236 |
1908 | Basilosaurus Stromer p. 148 |
1914 | Zeuglodon Abel p. 220 |
1919 | Zeuglodon Abel p. 751 |
1921 | Zeuglodon Winge p. 7 |
1923 | Basilosaurus Miller p. 40 |
1925 | Zeuglodon Zittel p. 84 |
1928 | Basilosaurus Kellogg p. 32 figs. Table 1 |
1930 | Basilosaurus Hay p. 569 |
1936 | Basilosaurus Kellogg p. 14 |
1936 | Zeuglodon Slijper |
1945 | Basilosaurus Simpson p. 100 |
1952 | Basilosaurus Sherman p. 99 |
1954 | Basilosaurus Moustafa p. 87 |
1970 | Basilosaurus Mchedlidze p. 50 |
1972 | Basilosaurus Halstead and Middleton |
1981 | Basilosaurus Thurmond and Jones p. 193 |
1986 | Basilosaurus Hooker p. 342 |
1988 | Basilosaurus Carroll |
1993 | Basilosaurus Benton p. 761 |
1997 | Basilosaurus Gingerich et al. |
1997 | Basilosaurus McKenna and Bell p. 369 |
1998 | Basilosaurus Uhen p. 31 |
1999 | Basilosaurus Bergqvist et al. p. 31 |
2001 | Basilosaurus Thewissen et al. p. 351 figs. Table 1 |
2002 | Basilosaurus Sepkoski |
2003 | Basilosaurus Geisler and Sanders p. 27 |
2004 | Basilosaurus Uhen p. 12 |
2004 | Basilosaurus van Vliet p. 143 |
2006 | Basilosaurus Clementz et al. p. 359 |
2008 | Basilosaurus McLeod and Barnes p. 94 |
2008 | Basilosaurus Uhen p. 561 |
2009 | Basilosaurus Spaulding et al. p. 3 |
2009 | Basilosaurus Uhen p. 93 |
2010 | Basilosaurus Fitzgerald p. 370 figs. Table 1 |
2011 | Basilosaurus Martinez-Cáceres and Muizon p. 518 |
2011 | Basilosaurus Schouten p. 18 |
2012 | Basilosaurus Gingerich p. 313 figs. Figure 4 |
2012 | Basilosaurus puschi Kalmykov p. 179 |
2013 | Basilosaurus El-kheir et al. p. 465 |
2013 | Basilosaurus Uhen p. 5 figs. Figure 3 |
2014 | Basilosaurus Gingerich and Cappetta p. 128 figs. Figure 16 |
2015 | Basilosaurus Boessenecker and Fordyce figs. Table 1 |
2015 | Basilosaurus Gao and Ni p. 156 figs. Table 1 |
2017 | Basilosaurus Berta p. 159 |
2017 | Basilosaurus Martínez-Cáceres et al. p. 11 |
2018 | Basilosaurus Uhen |
2019 | Basilosaurus Mahdy et al. |
2020 | Basilosaurus Zalmout et al. p. 130 |
2021 | Basilosaurus Smith et al. |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. †Basilosaurus Harlan 1834
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†Basilosaurus cetoides Owen 1839
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Invalid names: Alabamornis gigantea Abel 1906 [synonym], Hydrarchos sillimani Wyman 1845 [synonym], Hydrargos sillimanii Koch 1845 [synonym], Zeuglodon ceti Wyman 1845 [synonym], Zeuglodon harlani De Kay 1842 [synonym], Zeuglodon macrospondylus Müller 1849 [synonym]
†Basilosaurus isis Andrews 1904
Invalid names: Alabamornis Abel 1906 [synonym], Basilosaurus puschi Brandt 1873 [nomen dubium], Hydrarchos Koch 1845 [synonym], Hydrarchus Muller 1849 [synonym], Hydrargos Koch 1845 [synonym], Zeuglodon Owen 1839 [objective synonym], Zugodon Scudder 1882 [synonym], Zygodon Owen 1839 [synonym]
Diagnosis
Reference | Diagnosis | |
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M. D. Uhen 2008 | Basilosaurus is distinguished from other basilosaurids by its large body size and elongate posterior thoracic, lumbar, and anterior caudal vertebrae. Basilosaurus lacks the vertically oriented metapophyses seen in Basiloterus (Gingerich et al., 1997). | |
M. D. Uhen 2013 | Members of the genus Basilosaurus can be distinguished from all other basilosaurids by their large size (>15 m length) and the great elongation of the pos- terior thoracic, lumbar, and anterior caudal vertebral bodies (length around 2 times width or height). Vertebrae assigned to members of Basilotritus wardii and related taxa share a somewhat similar elongation in the trunk verte- brae, but not to the same degree as seen in Basilosaurus. In addition, the pedicles, neural arches, neural spines, and transverse processes of the trunk vertebrae of Basilotritus wardii and related taxa are also greatly elongated, while in Basilosaurus, they are not elongated to the same degree, and the number of thoracic vertebrae in Basilotritus wardii is 12, like that of Protocetidae and unlike other Basilosau- ridae. See Remarks section below. |