Cynthiacetus
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Cynthiacetus Temporal range: Late Eocene ~37.2–33.9 Ma |
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| Skeleton at the MNHN, Paris | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | †Basilosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Dorudontinae |
| Genus: |
†Cynthiacetus Uhen 2005 |
| Species | |
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Cynthiacetus is an extinct genus of basilosaurid early whale that lived during the Late Eocene (Bartonian-Priabonian, 40.4 to 33.9 million years ago.) Specimens have been found in the south-eastern United States, Egypt and Peru (Otuma Formation).
The skull of Cynthiacetus was similar in size and morphology to that of Basilosaurus, but Cynthiacetus lacked the elongated vertebrae of Basilosaurus. Uhen 2005 erected the genus to avoid the nomen dubium Pontogeneus (which was based on poorly described and now vanished specimens).Cynthiacetus was smaller than Masracetus.
The South American species C. peruvianus, the first archaeocete to be described on that continent, mainly differs from C. maxwelli in the number of cuspids in the lower premolars, but it also has the greatest numbers of thoracic vertebrae (20).
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