Masracetus (from Arabic Masr, "Egypt", and Greek ketos, "whale")[1] is an extinct genus of basilosaurid ancient whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian, 37.2 to 33.9 million years ago) of Egypt.[2]
| Masracetus Temporal range:
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | †Basilosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Dorudontinae |
| Genus: | †Masracetus Gingerich 2007 |
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Masracetus was briefly described in an addendum by Gingerich 2007 and is known from just an assemblage of vertebrae and a poorly reconstructed skull from 1908. The lumbar vertebrae are large but relatively short (anteroposteriorly) compared to those of other archaeocetes; the diameter is almost the same as for Basilosaurus isis but the length is less than half of the latter. Masracetus is larger than Cynthiacetus,[3] but it is suggested that the former might be synonymized as a junior synonym with the latter.[4]
The species name honours Richard Markgraf, palaeontologist Ernst Stromer's fossil collector, who collected the type specimen in 1905.[1]
Masracetus' type locality is the Birket Qarun Formation in Dimê (29°30′N 30°42′E / 29.5°N 30.7°E, paleocoordinates 24°54′N 26°36′E / 24.9°N 26.6°E) north of lake Birket Qarun,[5] but specimens have also been found in the Qattara Depression and Fayum.[6][7][8][9]
Notes
edit- ^ a b Gingerich 2007, Etymology, p. 375
- ^ Masracetus in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ^ Gingerich 2007, p. 375
- ^ Martínez-Cáceres, M.; Lambert, O.; De Muizon, C. (2017). "The anatomy and phylogenetic affinities of Cynthiacetus peruvianus, a large Dorudon-like basilosaurid (Cetacea, Mammalia) from the late Eocene of Peru" (PDF). Geodiversitas, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle Paris. 39 (1): 7–163. doi:10.5252/g2017n1a1. S2CID 90142285.
- ^ Dimeh (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ^ Masracetus markgrafi in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ^ Qattara Depression (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ^ Minqar Tibaghbagh (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
- ^ Minqar el-Hut (Eocene of Egypt) in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved July 2013.
References
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- Gingerich, Philip D (2007). "Stromerius nidensis, new archaeocete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Upper Eocene Qasr El-Sagha Formation, Fayum, Egypt" (PDF). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology. 31 (13): 363–78. OCLC 214233870.
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