Basic info Taxonomic history Classification Included Taxa
Morphology Ecology and taphonomy External Literature Search Age range and collections

Cynthiacetus

Mammalia - Cetacea - Basilosauridae

Synonymy list
YearName and author
2005Cynthiacetus Uhen p. 159 figs. 1-7
2008Cynthiacetus McLeod and Barnes p. 94
2008Cynthiacetus Uhen p. 561
2009Cynthiacetus Uhen p. 93
2011Cynthiacetus Martinez-Cáceres and Muizon
2011Cynthiacetus Schouten p. 18
2013Cynthiacetus Uhen p. 9 figs. Figure 6
2015Cynthiacetus Gao and Ni p. 156 figs. Table 1
2016Cynthiacetus Marx et al. p. 101
2017Cynthiacetus Berta p. 159
2017Cynthiacetus Martínez-Cáceres et al. p. 11
2018Cynthiacetus Uhen

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Life
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
RankNameAuthor
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Euungulata
Artiodactylamorpha
Artiodactyla()
Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
Pelagiceti
familyBasilosauridae
genusCynthiacetus

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. †Cynthiacetus Uhen 2005
show all | hide all
Cynthiacetus maxwelli Uhen 2005
Cynthiacetus peruvianus Martinez-Cáceres and Muizon 2011
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
M. D. Uhen 2005Large body size distinguishes Cynthiacetus from other dorudontines. Skull, cervical vertebrae, and anterior thoracic vertebrae are similarin morphology to those of Basilosaurus. The posterior thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, and anterior caudal vertebrae are not elongate, but have proportions similar to other dorudontines, distinguishing Cynthiacetus from Basilosaurus.
M. D. Uhen 2008 Skull, cervical vertebrae, and anterior thoracic vertebrae are similar in size and morphology to those of Basilosaurus, distinguishing Cynthiacetus from other dorudontines. The posterior thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, and anterior caudal vertebrae are not elongate, but have proportions similar to other dorudontines, distinguishing Cynthiacetus from Basilosaurus.
M. Martinez-Cáceres and C. Muizon 2011Large basilosaurid lacking vertebral elongation observed in Basilosaurus; skulls lightly shorter than Basilosaurus and significantly longer than all other dorudontines (e.g., Dorudon, Zygorhiza, Saghacetus). Cynthiacetus differs from all other basilosaurids in:
nasal strongly tapering anteriorly in both species (even more than in Dorudon); atlas with a high, massive and dome-shaped neural arch; vertebrarterial foramina on the cervical vertebrae significantly larger; absence of the ventral expansion of the transverse processes in cervical
vertebrae. The supraoccipital shield of Cynthiacetus proportionally wider than that in Saghacetus; nuchal crest posterodorsally oriented (anterodorsally in Zygorhiza).
M. D. Uhen 2013Large basilosaurid lacking elongation of the posterior thoracic, lumbar and anterior caudal vertebrae seen in Basilosaurus; skull similar in size, but slightly shorter than Basilosaurus and much longer than all other basilosaurids. Cynthiacetus differs from all other basilosaurids in: nasal strongly tapering anteriorly; atlas with a high, massive and dome-shaped neural arch; verte- brarterial foramina on the cervical vertebrae significantly larger; absence of the ventral expansion of the transverse processes in cervical vertebrae. The supraoccipital shield of Cynthiacetus proportionally wider than that seen in Saghacetus (after Martínez-Cáceres and de Muizon, 2011).