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Basilosaurus cetoides

Mammalia - Cetacea - Basilosauridae

Taxonomy
Zeuglodon cetoides was named by Owen (1839) [ANSP 12944-12949 constitute the holotype according to Spammer et al. 1995. ANSP 12944-12949 constitute the holotype according to Spammer et al. 1995. ]. Its type specimen is ANSP 12944A, a set of vertebrae (lumbar vertebra), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Ouachita River, which is in a Priabonian offshore shelf marl in the Yazoo Formation of Louisiana.

It was synonymized subjectively with Zeuglodon macrospondylus by Bronn (1853); it was recombined as Basilosaurus cetoides by Gibbes (1847), Leidy (1854), Gray and Adams (1859), Cope (1868), Leidy (1869), Hay (1902), Trouessart (1904), Hay (1930), Kellogg (1936), Sherman (1952), Mchedlidze (1970), Thurmond and Jones (1981), Uhen (2002), van Vliet (2004), Uhen (2004), McLeod and Barnes (2008), Uhen (2008), Uhen (2009), Schouten (2011), Kalmykov (2012), Uhen (2013), Uhen (2018), Smith et al. (2021).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1839Zeuglodon cetoides Owen p. 69 figs. Plates 7-9
1842Zeuglodon harlani De Kay p. 123
1845Hydrargos sillimanii Koch
1845Zeuglodon ceti Wyman
1845Hydrarchos sillimani Wyman pp. 65-68
1847Basilosaurus cetoides Gibbes
1848Basilosaurus harlani Hammerschmidt p. 323
1849Zeuglodon macrospondylus Müller p. 239
1853Zeuglodon macrospondylus Bronn p. 769
1854Basilosaurus cetoides Leidy p. 8
1859Basilosaurus cetoides Gray and Adams p. 203
1868Basilosaurus cetoides Cope p. 155
1869Basilosaurus cetoides Leidy p. 427
1873Zeuglodon macrospondylus Scott p. 58
1887Zeuglodon cetoides Lydekker p. 50
1890Zeuglodon cetoides Cope p. 602
1898Zeuglodon macrospondylus Trouessart p. 1010
1902Basilosaurus cetoides Hay p. 587
1904Basilosaurus cetoides Trouessart p. 753
1906Alabamornis gigantea Abel pp. 450-458
1914Zeuglodon cetoides Abel p. 220
1925Zeuglodon cetoides Zittel p. 85
1930Basilosaurus cetoides Hay p. 570
1936Basilosaurus cetoides Kellogg p. 15
1952Basilosaurus cetoides Sherman p. 99
1970Basilosaurus cetoides Mchedlidze p. 50
1981Basilosaurus cetoides Thurmond and Jones p. 193
2002Basilosaurus cetoides Uhen p. 79
2004Basilosaurus cetoides Uhen p. 12
2004Basilosaurus cetoides van Vliet p. 143
2008Basilosaurus cetoides McLeod and Barnes p. 94
2008Basilosaurus cetoides Uhen p. 561
2009Basilosaurus cetoides Uhen p. 93
2011Basilosaurus cetoides Schouten p. 18
2012Basilosaurus cetoides Kalmykov p. 79
2013Basilosaurus cetoides Uhen p. 6 figs. Figure 3
2018Basilosaurus cetoides Uhen
2021Basilosaurus cetoides Smith et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—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
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Euungulata
—Artiodactylamorpha
—Artiodactyla()
—Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
—Pelagiceti
familyBasilosauridae
genusBasilosaurus
speciescetoides()

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.

†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]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
M. D. Uhen 2013Basilosaurus cetoides is distinguished from Basilosaurus isis by its slightly larger size (Gingerich et al., 1990).
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Form: roller-shapedo
Ontogeny: modification of partso
Environment: marineo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: aquatico
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: carnivoreo
Reproduction: viviparouso
Created: 2005-03-06 14:19:05
Modified: 2017-04-17 10:41:18
Source: o = order
Reference: Uhen 2004

Age range: Priabonian or 38.00000 to 33.90000 Ma

Collections (42 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Eocene56.0 - 33.9USA (Mississippi) Basilosaurus cetoides (131913)
Priabonian38.0 - 33.9USA (Georgia) Basilosaurus cetoides (132660 202045 211382) Basilosaurus sp. (138667)
Priabonian38.0 - 33.9USA (Tennessee) Basilosaurus cetoides (32902)
Priabonian38.0 - 33.9USA (Mississippi) Basilosaurus cetoides (32926 45627 45628 45629 45630 45631 45632 45633 45634 45636 55689 55868 132844 135787 211383 211384 211430)
Priabonian38.0 - 33.9USA (Arkansas) Basilosaurus cetoides (16549 122718)
Priabonian38.0 - 33.9USA (Florida) Basilosaurus cetoides (57122) zeuglodont sp. (32916)
Priabonian38.0 - 33.9Egypt Basilosaurus cetoides (123919)
Priabonian38.0 - 33.9USA (Louisiana) Basilosaurus cetoides (32925 type locality: 75638)
Priabonian38.0 - 33.9USA (Alabama) Basilosaurus cetoides (28983 28986 45638 76685 89613 131804 131832 204941) Basilosaurus sp. (45637) Zeuglodon cetoides (86949) Zeuglodon sp. (86948)
Priabonian38.0 - 33.9Egypt (Fayum) Basilosaurus cetoides (175726)