Saghacetus
Name:
Saghacetus.
Phonetic: Sag-ha-see-tus.
Named By: P. D. Gingerich - 1992.
Synonyms: Dorudon elliotsmithii, Dorudon
sensitivus, Dorudon zitteli, Zeuglodon elliotsmithii, Zeuglodon
sensitivius, Zeuglodon sensitivus, Zeuglodon zitteli.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Cetacea,
Archaeoceti, Basilosauridae, Dorudontinae.
Species: S. osiris (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Uncertain due to lack of remains.
Known locations: Egypt - Qasr el Sagha Formation.
Time period: Priabonian of the Eocene.
Fossil representation: Partial skull and jaws.
Though only known from a partial skull and jaws, Saghacetus is known to have been a dorudontine whale that was hunting in the waters of Egypt during the Eocene. Before being established as a distinct genus, fossils of Saghacetus had been described as species of Dorudon. The exact size of Saghacetus is uncertain, but the genus is thought to have been smaller than its relative Dorudon.
Further reading
- Marine Mammals (Cetacean and Sirenia) from the Eocene of Gebel
Mokattam and Fayum, Egypt: Stratigraphy, Age, and
Paleoenvironments. - University of Michigan Papers on Paleontology
30:1-84. - P. D. Gingerich - 1992.
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