Remingtonocetus
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Remingtonocetus Temporal range: Middle Eocene, 45–43.5 Ma |
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| Life restoration of Remingtonocetus harudiniensis. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | †Remingtonocetidae |
| Genus: |
†Remingtonocetus Kumar & Sahni 1986 |
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Remingtonocetus is an extinct genus of early cetacean freshwater aquatic mammals of the family Remingtonocetidae endemic to the coastline of the ancient Tethys Ocean during the Eocene. It was named after naturalist Remington Kellogg.
Sahni & Mishra 1975 named harudiensis based on a partial skeleton, the type specimen found in the Lutetian shallow subtidal mudstone in the Harudi Formation, India. Kumar & Sahni 1986 reassigned it to Remingtonocetidae.
Remingtonocetus domandaensis was named by Gingerich et al. 2001 based on a partial skeleton found in a Lutetian coastal shale in the Domanda Formation of Pakistan.
Remingtonocetus is larger, has a broader rostrum, and longer premolars than Andrewsiphius. It is smaller than, has more gracile premolars and molars than Dalanistes. R. harudiensis differs from R. domandaensis in molar morphology.
Gingerich et al. 2001 interpreted R. domandaensis as an older and more generalized species than R. harudiensis. Based on a morphological analysis, they concluded that the hindlimbs of Remingtonocetus were probably not weight-bearing, and that (1) the fused sacrum indicates a limitation in tail-powered locomotion, and (2) the presence of powerful hip extensors and femoral adductors indicates that Remingtonocetus was an efficient and specialized foot-powered swimmer.
Remingtonocetus had four working and usable limbs, a slender whale-like body with long tail and slender, hydrodynamic head.
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