Pontobasileus

Pontobasileus is an archaeocete whale known from a fragment of a single tooth described by Leidy 1873.[1][2] It can questionably be dated to the Eocene of Alabama.[3]

Pontobasileus Temporal range: Eocene 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:	†Protocetidae
Subfamily:	†Georgiacetinae
Genus:	†Pontobasileus Leidy, 1873
Species:	†P. tuberculatus
Binomial name
†Pontobasileus tuberculatus Leidy, 1873

Leidy assigned the tooth to Archaeoceti, but without neither a stratigraphic nor a geographic locality it is virtually impossible to argue for or against this classification. The tooth was later classified as an Archaeoceti incertae sedis[4] and even a squalodont odontocete (a more recent whale), but can also be assigned to Protocetidae.[5]

References

Notes

1. Leidy 1873, Plate XXXVII, Fig. 15
2. "†Pontobasileus Leidy 1873 (whale)". Fossilworks. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
3. Gillette 1975, p. 65
4. Kellogg 1936, pp. 264–265
5. Hulbert Jr et al. 1998, p. 918

Sources

• Gillette, D. D. (1975). "Catalogue of Type Specimens of Fossil Vertebrates, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia Introduction and Part I: Marine Mammals". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia: 63–66. JSTOR 4064701.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Hulbert Jr, R. C.; Petkewich, R. M.; Bishop, G. A.; Bukry, D.; Aleshire, D. P. (1998). "A new middle Eocene protocetid whale (Mammalia: Cetacea: Archaeoceti) and associated biota from Georgia" (PDF). Journal of Paleontology. 72 (5): 907–926. JSTOR 1306667. Retrieved 24 June 2016.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Kellogg, R. (1936). A review of the Archaeoceti (PDF, 48 Mb). Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington. OCLC 681376. Retrieved 24 June 2016.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Leidy, J. (1873). Contributions to the Extinct Vertebrate Fauna of the Western Territories. Report of the United States Geological Survey of the territories. United States. Dept. of the Interior. pp. 1–358. Retrieved 24 June 2016. Lay summary (June 2016).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)