Gandakasia

Gandakasia is an extinct genus of ambulocetid from Pakistan, that lived in the Eocene epoch. It probably caught its prey near rivers or streams.

Gandakasia Temporal range: Early Eocene, 49 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	†Ambulocetidae
Genus:	†Gandakasia Dehm & Oettingen-Spielberg, 1958[1]
Species:	†G. potens
Binomial name
†Gandakasia potens Dehm & Oettingen-Spielberg, 1958[1]

Just like Himalayacetus, Gandakasia is only known from a single jaw fragment, making comparisons to other ambulocetids difficult.[2]

The first ambulocetid to be described, Gandakasia was not initially recognized as a cetacean.[3]

Gandakasia probably inhabited a freshwater niche similar to the pakicetids.[2]

References

1. Dehm & Oettingen-Spielberg 1958. sfn error: no target: CITEREFDehmOettingen-Spielberg1958 (help)
2. Cooper, Lisa Noelle; Thewissen, J. G.M.; Hussain, S. T. (2009). "New middle Eocene archaeocetes (Cetacea: Mammalia) from the Kuldana Formation of northern Pakistan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (4): 1289–1299. doi:10.1671/039.029.0423.
3. Ando, Konami; Fujiwara, Shin‐Ichi (2016). "Farewell to life on land – thoracic strength as a new indicator to determine paleoecology in secondary aquatic mammals". Journal of Anatomy. 229 (6): 768–777. doi:10.1111/joa.12518. PMC 5108153. PMID 27396988.