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Protocetidae

Mammalia - Cetacea - Protocetidae

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1908Protocetidae Stromer p. 148
1914Protocetidae Abel p. 220
1923Protocetidae Miller p. 40
1928Protocetidae Kellogg p. 32 figs. Table 1
1936Protocetidae Kellogg p. 231
1936Protocetidae Slijper p. 540
1945Protocetidae Simpson p. 100
1985Protocetidae Barnes et al. p. 25
1985Protocetidae Kumar and Sahni p. 166
1988Protocetidae Carroll
1993Protocetidae Benton p. 761
1994Protocetidae Fordyce and Barnes p. 428
1995Protocetidae Fordyce et al. p. 379
1997Protocetidae McKenna and Bell p. 369
1998Protocetidae Rice
2001Protocetidae Fordyce and de Muizon p. 176
2001Protocetidae Thewissen et al. p. 351 figs. Table 1
2001Protocetidae Uhen p. 135
2002Protocetidae Rice p. 231 figs. Table 1
2003Protocetidae Fordyce p. 156 figs. Figure 9.1
2003Protocetidae Geisler and Sanders p. 27
2004Protocetidae van Vliet p. 143
2005Protocetidae Gingerich p. 237 figs. Table 15.1
2007Protocetidae Bianucci and Landini p. 45 figs. Table 2.1
2008Protocetidae McLeod and Barnes p. 74
2008Protocetidae Uhen p. 559
2008Protocetidae Uhen and Berndt p. 57
2009Protocetidae Gingerich et al. p. 3
2009Protocetidae Rice p. 235 figs. Table 1
2010Protocetidae Fitzgerald p. 370 figs. Table 1
2010Protocetidae Uhen p. 203 figs. Figure 1
2011Protocetidae Bianucci and Gingerich p. 1175
2011Protocetidae Uhen et al. p. 957
2012Protocetidae Gingerich p. 313 figs. Figure 4
2013Protocetidae Godfrey et al. p. 257
2014Protocetidae Bajpai and Thewissen p. 2
2014Protocetidae Gingerich and Cappetta p. 111
2014Protocetidae Hautier et al. p. e2
2014Protocetidae Uhen p. 1030
2015Protocetidae Gao and Ni p. 156 figs. Table 1
2015Protocetidae Gingerich and Zouhri p. 276
2016Protocetidae Marx et al. p. 98
2017Protocetidae Berta p. 159
2019Protocetidae Gibson et al.
2019Protocetidae Gingerich p. 5
2019Protocetidae Lambert et al. p. 1

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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
familyProtocetidae
familyProtocetidae

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.

Fm. †Protocetidae Stromer 1908
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G. †Aegyptocetus Bianucci and Gingerich 2011
+
Aegyptocetus tarfa Bianucci and Gingerich 2011
G. †Artiocetus Gingerich et al. 2001
+
Artiocetus clavis Gingerich et al. 2001
G. †Babiacetus Trivedy and Satsangi 1984
+
Babiacetus indicus Trivedy and Satsangi 1984
Babiacetus mishrai Bajpai and Thewissen 1998
G. †Carolinacetus Geisler et al. 2005
+
Carolinacetus gingerichi Geisler et al. 2005
G. †Crenatocetus McLeod and Barnes 2008
+
Crenatocetus rayi McLeod and Barnes 2008
G. †Dhedacetus Bajpai and Thewissen 2014
+
Dhedacetus hyaeni Bajpai and Thewissen 2014
G. †Eocetus Fraas 1904
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Eocetus drazindai Gingerich et al. 1997
Eocetus schweinfurthi Fraas 1904
Invalid names: Mesocetus Fraas 1904 [replaced]
G. †Gaviacetus Gingerich et al. 1995
+
Gaviacetus razai Gingerich et al. 1995
Subfm. †Georgiacetinae Gingerich et al. 2005
+
G. †Aegicetus Gingerich 2019
+
Aegicetus gehennae Gingerich 2019
G. †Georgiacetus Hulbert et al. 1998
+
Georgiacetus vogtlensis Hulbert et al. 1998
G. †Indocetus Sahni and Mishra 1975
+
Indocetus ramani Sahni and Mishra 1975
G. †Kharodacetus Bajpai and Thewissen 2014
+
Kharodacetus sahnii Bajpai and Thewissen 1998
G. †Maiacetus Gingerich et al. 2009
+
Maiacetus inuus Gingerich et al. 2009
G. †Makaracetus Gingerich et al. 2005
+
Makaracetus bidens Gingerich et al. 2005
G. †Natchitochia Uhen 1998
+
Natchitochia jonesi Uhen 1998
G. †Pappocetus Andrews 1920
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Pappocetus lugardi Andrews 1920
G. †Peregocetus Lambert et al. 2019
+
Peregocetus pacificus Lambert et al. 2019
G. †Phiomicetus Gohar et al. 2021
+
Phiomicetus anubis Gohar et al. 2021
G. †Protocetus Fraas 1904
+
Protocetus atavus Fraas 1904
G. †Qaisracetus Gingerich et al. 2001
+
Qaisracetus arifi Gingerich et al. 2001
+
Invalid names: Qaisracetus spinalis Gingerich et al. 2001 [objective synonym]
G. †Rodhocetus Gingerich et al. 1994
+
Rodhocetus balochistanensis Gingerich et al. 2001
Rodhocetus kasranii Gingerich et al. 1994
G. †Takracetus Gingerich et al. 1995
+
Takracetus simus Gingerich et al. 1995
G. †Togocetus Gingerich and Cappetta 2014
+
Togocetus traversei Gingerich and Cappetta 2014
G. †Tupelocetus Gibson et al. 2019
+
Tupelocetus palmeri Gibson et al. 2019
Invalid names: Indocetinae Gingerich et al. 1993 [empty], Makaracetinae Gingerich et al. 2005 [empty], Pappocetinae McLeod and Barnes 2008 [empty], Protocetinae Gingerich and Russell 1990 [empty]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
M. D. Uhen 2001Thewissen and others (1996) characterized members of the family Protocetidae as having a supraorbital shield, greatly enlarged mandibular foramina, a reduced nasopharyngeal duct (compared to Ambulocetus), and reduced hind limbs. All non-basilosaurid archaeocetes, including protocetids, are characterized by the retention of M3, lack of well-developed accessory denticles on the cheek teeth, and presence of innominata that lack a greatly elongated pubis, and possess a craniodorsally oriented ilium (rather than caudodorsally oriented as in Basilosauridae). The family Protocetidae is most likely paraphyletic, giving rise to the Basilosauridae (Thewissen and others, 1996; see below).
M. D. Uhen 2008Thewissen et al. (1996) characterized members of the family Protocetidae as having a supraorbital shield, greatly enlarged mandibular foramina, a reduced nasopharyngeal duct (compared to Ambulocetus), and reduced hind limbs. All non-basilosaurid archaeocetes, including protocetids, are characterized as retaining M3, lacking well-developed accessory denticles on the cheek teeth, and having normally oriented innominata that lack a greatly elongated pubis (Uhen, 1998b). The family Protocetidae is most likely paraphyletic, giving rise to the Basilosauridae (Thewissen et al., 1996). This taxonomy does not follow the subfamilial taxonomy erected by Gingerich et al. (2005), which may be valid, but was unsupported by phylogenetic analysis.
M. D. Uhen 2014Members of the Family Protocetidae have a well-developed supraorbital shield; greatly enlarged mandibular foramina; a reduced nasopharyngeal duct (compared to Ambulocetus); M3 present; well-developed accessory denticles on the cheek teeth absent; innominata oriented in a standard mammalian anatomical position with a well-developed ischium and ilium; greatly elongate pubis absent; 13 thoracic verte- brae, 6 lumbar vertebrae, and 4 sacral vertebrae (Thewissen et al. 1996, Uhen 1998b, Gingerich 2010, Uhen et al. 2011).