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Pachycetus
Taxonomy
Pachycetus was named by Van Beneden (1883) [Sepkoski's age data: T Eo-m Sepkoski's reference number: 746]. Its type is Pachycetus robustus.
It was synonymized subjectively with Dorudon by McKenna and Bell (1997); it was considered a nomen dubium by Kuhn (1935); it was considered a nomen dubium by Uhen and Pyenson (2007).
It was assigned to Balaenopterinae by Trouessart (1898), Trouessart (1904); to Balaenidae by Palmer (1904); to Mysticeti by Geinitz (1883), True (1912); to Archaeoceti by Wetmore (1940); to Cetotheriidae by Van Beneden (1883), Kellogg (1928), Simpson (1945); to Archaeoceti by Rothausen (1986), Carroll (1988), Gingerich et al. (1997); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Protocetidae by van Vliet (2004); to Basilosauridae by van Vliet et al. (2020); and to Pachycetinae by Gingerich et al. (2022), van Vliet et al. (2023), van Vliet et al. (2024).
It was synonymized subjectively with Dorudon by McKenna and Bell (1997); it was considered a nomen dubium by Kuhn (1935); it was considered a nomen dubium by Uhen and Pyenson (2007).
It was assigned to Balaenopterinae by Trouessart (1898), Trouessart (1904); to Balaenidae by Palmer (1904); to Mysticeti by Geinitz (1883), True (1912); to Archaeoceti by Wetmore (1940); to Cetotheriidae by Van Beneden (1883), Kellogg (1928), Simpson (1945); to Archaeoceti by Rothausen (1986), Carroll (1988), Gingerich et al. (1997); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Protocetidae by van Vliet (2004); to Basilosauridae by van Vliet et al. (2020); and to Pachycetinae by Gingerich et al. (2022), van Vliet et al. (2023), van Vliet et al. (2024).
Synonyms
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1883 | Pachycetus Geinitz p. 107 |
| 1883 | Pachycetus Van Beneden pp. 31-32 |
| 1898 | Pachycetus Trouessart p. 1054 |
| 1904 | Pachycetus Palmer p. 494 |
| 1904 | Pachycetus Trouessart p. 784 |
| 1912 | Pachycetus True p. 3 |
| 1928 | Pachycetus Kellogg p. 35 figs. Table 1 |
| 1936 | Platyosphys Kellogg p. 97 |
| 1940 | Pachycetus Wetmore p. 72 |
| 1945 | Platyosphys Simpson p. 100 |
| 1945 | Pachycetus Simpson p. 104 |
| 1954 | Platyosphys Moustafa p. 87 |
| 1970 | Platyosphys Mchedlidze p. 51 |
| 1977 | Platyosphys Whitmore and Sanders p. 305 |
| 1986 | Pachycetus Rothausen p. 517 |
| 1988 | Pachycetus Carroll |
| 1988 | Platyosphys Carroll |
| 1997 | Pachycetus Gingerich et al. p. 68 |
| 1997 | Platyosphys McKenna and Bell p. 369 |
| 2001 | Platyosphys Gritsenko p. 18 |
| 2002 | Pachycetus Sepkoski |
| 2002 | Platyosphys Sepkoski |
| 2003 | Platyosphys Fordyce p. 162 |
| 2004 | Pachycetus van Vliet p. 143 |
| 2004 | Platyosphys van Vliet p. 143 |
| 2013 | Basilotritus Goldin and Zvonok p. 255 figs. Fig. 2-8 |
| 2013 | Basilotritus Uhen p. 7 figs. Figure 4 |
| 2014 | Basilotritus Goldin et al. |
| 2015 | Basilotritus Gao and Ni p. 156 figs. Table 1 |
| 2015 | Platyosphys Gingerich and Zouhri p. 279 |
| 2016 | Basilotritus Marx et al. p. 101 |
| 2017 | Basilotritus Berta p. 159 |
| 2017 | Platyosphys Berta p. 159 |
| 2017 | Basilotritus Martínez-Cáceres et al. p. 11 |
| 2018 | Basilotritus Uhen |
| 2020 | Pachycetus van Vliet et al. p. 124 figs. Plate 2, figs C1-C4 & D1-D2 |
| 2022 | Pachycetus Gingerich et al. p. 13 |
| 2023 | Pachycetus van Vliet et al. p. 7 |
| 2024 | Pachycetus van Vliet et al. p. 6 |
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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. †Pachycetus Van Beneden 1883
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†Pachycetus paulsonii Brandt 1873
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Invalid names: Basilotritus uheni Goldin and Zvonok 2013 [synonym], Pachycetus robustus Van Beneden 1883 [synonym], Platyosphys einori Gritsenko 2001 [synonym], Zeuglodon rossicus Paulson in Brandt 1873 [synonym]
†Pachycetus wardii Uhen 1999
Invalid names: Basilotritus Goldin and Zvonok 2013 [synonym], Platyosphys Kellogg 1936 [synonym]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| P. Goldin and E. A. Zvonok 2013 (Basilotritus) | Basilotritus differs from the other basilosaurids in
the unique combination of the following traits: 1) the sigmoid process of the tympanic bulla is plate-like, broad, with the poorly developed transverse rim; 2) the transverse processes, neural arches and neural spines of posterior thoracic and lumbar vertebrae are elongated, comparable to vertebral centra; 3) the posterior thoracic and lumbar vertebrae are elongated in anterior- posterior dimension but less than in Basilosaurus; 4) the vertebrae have a pock-marked surface texture, with small, numerous irregularly located openings of vascular channels (Fig. 2.1); 5) the pachyostotic neural arches contain layered bone tissue located in periosteal zone (Fig. 2.2); 6) the sternum is T-shaped, with the broad anterior end and the mesosternum is flattened dorsoven- trally; 7) the iliac part of the innominate extends anteriorly from the acetabulum and the ischiac part is reduced to a tuberosity. Basilotritus further differs from most basilosaurids in the more convex medial margin of the tympanic bulla with a well- developed keel; in the steep lowering of involucrum towards the anterior part; in the blunt and rounded anterior process and in the rounded posterior part of the tympanic bulla. | |
| M. D. Uhen 2013 (Basilotritus) | Basilotritus differs from the other basilo- saurids in that: the sigmoid process of the tympanic bulla is plate-like, broad, with the poorly developed transverse rim; the transverse processes, neural arches and neural spines of posterior thoracic and lumbar vertebrae are elongated, along with the vertebral centra; the posterior thoracic and lumbar vertebrae are elongated anteroposte- riorly, but less so than in Basilosaurus; the vertebrae have a pock-marked surface texture, with small, numerous irreg-
ularly located openings of vascular channels; the pachy- ostotic neural arches contain layered bone tissue located in periosteal zone; the manubrium of the sternum is T-shaped, and the broad anterior end of the mesosternum is dorsoventrally flattened; the iliac part of the innomi- nate extends anteriorly from the acetabulum and the is- chiac part is reduced to a tuberosity. Basilotritus further differs from most basilosaurids in the more convex medial margin of the tympanic bulla with a well-developed keel; in the steep lowering of involucrum towards the anterior part; in the blunt and rounded anterior process and in the rounded posterior part of the tympanic bulla. After Gol’din and Zvonok (2013). | |
| P. D. Gingerich and S. Zouhri 2015 (Platyosphys) | Species of Platyosphys are distinctive among Basilosauridae in being relatively large and in having posterior thoracic, lumbar, and anterior caudal vertebrae that are conspicu- ously elongated. Lumbar vertebrae have broad and flat transverse processes that arise along virtually the entire anteroposterior length of the centrum. Cranial and vertebral bone is unique among archaeocetes in being pachyostotic and osteosclerotic. Pachyostosis gives vertebrae a swollen appearance, and nutrient canals opening at the surface add a pock-marked texture. | |
| P. D. Gingerich et al. 2022 | Differs from Antaecetus gen. nov. in being larger and in having more robust teeth with crenulated enamel. The first upper premolar, P1, differs from that in Antaecetus in being double-rooted or having two fused roots. Posterior upper premolars differ from those of Antaecetus in having four rather than three accessory cusps flanking the central cusp anteriorly and posteriorly. Upper molars differ in lacking any distinct medial swelling in the posi- tion of the protocone. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Reference: Uhen 2004 | |||||
Age range: base of the Bartonian to the top of the Priabonian or 41.30000 to 33.90000 Ma
Collections (40 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eocene | Russian Federation | Archaeoceti indet. (114208) | |
| Eocene | Ukraine | Basilosaurus sp. (132383 132385 132389 132391) Zeuglodon sp. (132386) | |
| Lutetian - Bartonian | Ukraine | Eocetus sp. (137757) | |
| Middle Eocene - Oligocene | Netherlands | Archaeoceti indet. (82994) | |
| Bartonian | Netherlands | Archaeoceti indet. (227706) P. sp., P. paulsonii (168386) | |
| Bartonian | Germany (Bavaria) | Basilosauridae indet., Eocetus sp. (71821) | |
| Bartonian | Russian Federation | Eocetus sp., Basilosaurus sp. (123876) | |
| Bartonian | Egypt | Basilotritus sp. (45626) | |
| Bartonian | Western Sahara | P. sp. (235061 235062) | |
| Bartonian | Germany (Lower Saxony) | P. sp. (211071 211080) | |
| Bartonian | USA (Virginia) | Eocetus wardii (107512) | |
| Bartonian | USA (North Carolina) | Eocetus wardii (7297 7299 75518 99753 132664) | |
| Bartonian | United Kingdom (England) | Basilosaurus sp. (32915) | |
| Bartonian | Ukraine (Luhansk) | Basilotritus uheni, Basilosauridae indet. (132393) | |
| Bartonian | Peru (Ica) | Protocetidae indet. (73780) | |
| Bartonian | Ukraine (Kirovograd) | Basilosauridae indet. (132381) Basilotritus sp. (141002) | |
| Bartonian - Priabonian | Germany | P. sp., Dorudontidae indet., P. robustus (46086) | |
| Bartonian - Priabonian | Germany (Lower Saxony) | P. sp. (211074 211075) | |
| Bartonian - Priabonian | Ukraine (Kirovograd) | Basilotritus sp. (214010) | |
| Priabonian | Russian Federation | Zeuglodon paulsonii (77227) | |
| Priabonian | Germany | P. sp. (211084) | |
| Priabonian | Ukraine | Platyosphys paulsonii (48027) Zeuglodon paulsonii (48028) | |
| Priabonian | Ukraine (Kyiv) | Platyosphys einori (57767) | |
| Priabonian | Western Sahara | Platyosphys indet. (206018) | |
| Priabonian | Ukraine (Kiev) | Zeuglodon paulsonii (48026) | |
| Priabonian | Germany (Lower Saxony) | P. sp. (211078) |