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

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) and 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
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.

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

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
Mammaliaformes
RankNameAuthor
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
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
show all | hide all
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).