Phiomicetus

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Phiomicetus
Temporal range: Middle Eocene, 43–42 Ma
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Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: †Protocetidae
Genus: †Phiomicetus
Gohar et al., 2021
Species
  • †P. anubis Gohar et al., 2021 (type)

Phiomicetus is a genus of protocetid whale that lived between 43 and 42 million years ago during the middle Eocene in what is now Egypt. It had powerful jaws and large teeth that would have allowed it to hunt and tear large prey.[1][2]

Etymology

The generic name Phiomicetus is derived from the Fayum Depression in the Western Desert of Egypt, the type locality where it was discovered, and the Latin term cetus meaning "whale". The specific name anubis is the Ancient Greek term for Inpu or Anpu, the ancient Egyptian god of death, mummification, the afterlife, and the Underworld. Anubis is usually depicted as a man with the head of a canid, and the authors chose the name due to the superficial similarity between the skulls of protocetids and canids.[1]

Discovery

Phiomicetus was unearthed in 2008 at Al Amaim, which lies on the southern margin of Wadi Al-Ruwayan in the Fayum Depression. The holotype specimen, MUVP500, is the partial skeleton of a single individual that includes the cranium, right mandible, an incomplete left mandible, several teeth, fifth cervical vertebra, sixth thoracic vertebra, sixth left rib, and an isolated right rib.[1] Phiomicetus is the first extinct whale to be discovered, scientifically described, and named by a team of Arab paleontologists.[2]

Type species

Phiomicetus anubis, the type species, is based on a 43 million-year-old fossil discovered in the Fayum Depression, announced to the world in August 2021.[1] It is placed in the transitional, semiaquatic family Protocetidae, of which it is the most basal member. Like all protocetids, it had large fore- and hindlimbs that could support the body on land. Body length is estimated to be 3 meters, and body mass 600 kg. Features of the skull and mandible suggest that it had a "strong raptorial feeding style".[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Gohar, Abdullah S.; Antar, Mohammed S.; Boessenecker, Robert W.; Sabry, Dalia A.; El-Sayed, Sanaa; Seiffert, Erik R.; Zalmout, Iyad. S.; Sallam, Hesham M. (25 August 2021). "A new protocetid whale offers clues to biogeography and feeding ecology in early cetacean evolution". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 288 (1957). doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.1368.
  2. ^ a b Gegel, Laura (25 August 2021). "Walking whale ancestor named after Egyptian god of death". Live Science. Retrieved 25 August 2021.


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