CRANIAL ANATOMY OF MIDDLE EOCENE REMINGTONOCETUS (CETACEA, MAMMALIA) FROM KUTCH, INDIA

CRANIAL ANATOMY OF MIDDLE EOCENE REMINGTONOCETUS (CETACEA, MAMMALIA) FROM KUTCH, INDIA

Bajpai S; Thewissen J G M; Conley R W

Journal of Paleontology

2011

2011-07

The family Remingtonocetidae is a basal family of Eocene cetaceans only known from near shore marine environments of India and Pakistan. We describe a new skull for Remingtonocetus harudiensis which elucidates the anatomy and functional morphology of the head and provides new details on cranial cavity and nasopharyngeal region. We suggest that Remingtonocetus was an ambush predator that hunted from a perch on the ocean floor, and that hearing was its most important sense. We speculate that the greatly elongated rostrum is an adaptation for water retention because these are some of the earliest whales living in seawater.

hearing; Paleontology; evolution; origin; whales; transition

Journal Article or Conference Abstract Publication

Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

703-718

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