Cynthiacetus

Cynthiacetus Temporal range:
Skeleton at the MNHN, Paris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Cetacea
Suborder:	†Archaeoceti
Family:	†Basilosauridae
Genus:	†Cynthiacetus Uhen 2005
Species
†C. maxwelli (type) Uhen 2005 †C. peruvianus Martínez-Cáceres & Muizon 2011

Cynthiacetus is an extinct genus of basilosaurid early whale that lived during the Upper Eocene (Bartonian-Priabonian, 40.4 to 33.9 million years ago.) Specimens has been found in the south-eastern United States, Egypt and Peru.

Skull of C. peruvianus at the MNHN, Paris

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 is also has the greatest numbers of thoracic vertebrae (20).

References

• 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. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Martínez-Cáceres, Manuel; Muizon, Christian, de (2011). "A new basilosaurid (Cetacea, Pelagiceti) from the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene Otuma Formation of Peru". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 10: 517–26. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2011.03.006. OCLC 802202947. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Uhen, Mark D. (2005). "A new genus and species of archaeocete whale from Mississippi". Southeastern Geology. 43 (3): 157–72. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Uhen, Mark D. (2008). "Basilosaurids". In Perrin, William F.; Wursig, Bernd; J.; Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2 ed.). Academic Press. pp. 91–4. ISBN 978-0-12-373553-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)