Qaisracetus

Name: Qaisracetus (Qaisra whale).
Phonetic: Kwai-rah-ce-tus.
Named By: P. D. Gingerich et al - 2001.
Synonyms: Qaisracetus spinalis.
Classification: Chordta, Mammalia, Cetacea, Archaeoceti, Protocetidae, Protocetinae.
Species: Q. arifi (type).
Type: Carnivore.
Size: Total length uncertain. Skull is 65 centimetres long.
Known locations: Pakistan, Domanda Formation.
Time period: Lutetian of the Eocene.
Fossil representation: Several specimens of partial remains.

       Qaisracetus was one of the earliest whales. Analysis of the skull suggests that it was a carnivore similar in lifestyle to other predatory prehistoric whales.

Further reading
- Eocene stratrigraphy and archaeocete whales (Mammalia, Cetacea) of Drug Lahar in the eastern Sulaiman range, Balochistan (Pakistan). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 30(11):269-319. - P. D. Gingerich, M. Ul-Haq, I. H. Khan & I. S. Zalmout - 2001.

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