| Basic info | Taxonomic history | Classification | Included Taxa |
| Morphology | Ecology and taphonomy | External Literature Search | Age range and collections |
Protosirenidae
Taxonomy
Protosirenidae was named by Sickenberg (1934). It was considered paraphyletic by Domning (1994).
It was reranked as the subfamily Protosireninae by Reinhart (1959).
It was assigned to Dugongidae by Reinhart (1959); to Prorastomoidea by Heal (1973); to Sirenia by Carroll (1988), Domning (1994), Domning (1996), Bajpai et al. (2006); to Sirenia by Berta (2017); and to Sirenia by Barnes et al. (1985), Rice (2002), Domning (2008), Rice (2009), Domning et al. (2017), Zouhri et al. (2022).
It was reranked as the subfamily Protosireninae by Reinhart (1959).
It was assigned to Dugongidae by Reinhart (1959); to Prorastomoidea by Heal (1973); to Sirenia by Carroll (1988), Domning (1994), Domning (1996), Bajpai et al. (2006); to Sirenia by Berta (2017); and to Sirenia by Barnes et al. (1985), Rice (2002), Domning (2008), Rice (2009), Domning et al. (2017), Zouhri et al. (2022).
Subtaxa
Entered
by J. Alroy on 2003-01-23; modified by M. Uhen on 2018-01-02
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1934 | Protosirenidae Sickenberg p. 193 |
| 1959 | Protosireninae Reinhart p. 6 |
| 1973 | Protosirenidae Heal p. 19 |
| 1985 | Protosirenidae Barnes et al. p. 33 |
| 1988 | Protosirenidae Carroll |
| 1994 | Protosirenidae Domning p. 189 |
| 1996 | Protosirenidae Domning p. 378 |
| 2002 | Protosirenidae Rice p. 232 figs. Table 1 |
| 2006 | Protosirenidae Bajpai et al. p. 400 |
| 2008 | Protosirenidae Domning |
| 2009 | Protosirenidae Rice p. 235 figs. Table 1 |
| 2017 | Protosirenidae Berta p. 170 |
| 2017 | Protosirenidae Domning et al. pp. e1299158-2 |
| 2022 | Protosirenidae Zouhri et al. |
Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data
|
|
If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
Fm. †Protosirenidae Sickenberg 1934
show all | hide all
G. †Protosiren Abel 1904
hide
†Protosiren eothene Zalmout et al. 2003
†Protosiren fraasi Abel 1904
†Protosiren minima Desmarest 1822
†Protosiren sattaensis Gingerich et al. 1995
†Protosiren smithae Domning and Gingerich 1994
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| S. Zouhri et al. 2022 | Middle and late Eocene sirenians with the following combination of traits —(a) a smooth ventral surface of the skull roof indicating a smooth dorsal surface of the brain (falx cerebri rudimentary or absent); (b) nasals small and often separated by midline processes of the frontal bones; (c) dentary with a procumbent ascending ramus, distinctive superior angular process, accessory mental foramen posterior to the mental foramen, and accessory mandibular foramen anterior to the mandibular foramen; (d) molars relatively large with thick enamel; (e) thoracic vertebrae with large keyhole-shaped neural canals and lacking smooth synovial rib articulations; (f) ribs not expanded (not pachyostotic); (g) ribs lack synovial articulations, being connected to thoracic vertebrae by capitular and tubercular ligaments; and (h) hind limbs relatively large, including an innominate retaining a large obturator foramen, and a moderately large femur, tibia, and fibula. Traits b– g distinguish protosirenids from Eocene prorastomids and primitive dugongids, and traits a – h distinguish protosirenids from contemporary dugongids. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
| Source: f = family, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Domning 1979, Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988 | |||||
Age range: base of the Early/Lower Eocene to the top of the Priabonian or 56.00000 to 33.90000 Ma
Collections (30 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early/Lower Eocene | Pakistan (Balochistan) | Kilgai moolakharzani (214011) | |
| Lutetian | Togo | Sirenia indet. (32991) | |
| Lutetian | Libya | Sirenia indet. (49943) | |
| Lutetian | Egypt | Protosiren fraasi (58456) Protosiren smithae (140129) Protosiren sp. (96975) | |
| Lutetian | Pakistan (Balochistan) | Protosiren eothene (28981) | |
| Lutetian | Hungary | Protosiren fraasi (49887) | |
| Lutetian | Germany | Protosiren fraasi (121968) | |
| Lutetian | USA (Florida) | Protosiren sp. (41446) | |
| Lutetian | Jordan | Protosirenidae indet. (64351) | |
| Lutetian - Bartonian | France | Protosiren sp., Hippopotamus minimus (49935) | |
| Middle Eocene | USA (Florida) | Protosiren sp. (49883 49884) | |
| Bartonian | USA (North Carolina) | Protosiren sp. (5387 5459) | |
| Bartonian | India (Gujarat) | Protosiren fraasi (45590) Sirenia indet. (88643) | |
| Bartonian | Pakistan (Punjab) | Protosiren sattaensis (28979) | |
| Bartonian | Pakistan | Protosiren sattaensis (88341) | |
| Bartonian | Egypt | Protosiren sp. (140096) | |
| Bartonian | USA (South Carolina) | Protosiren sp. (99752) Protosirenidae indet. (134300) | |
| Bartonian | USA (Florida) | Sirenia indet. (49882) | |
| Priabonian | Egypt | Protosiren smithae (47934 140117 140126) | |
| Priabonian | USA (South Carolina) | Protosiren sp. (32908) | |
| Priabonian | Western Sahara | Dakhlasiren marocensis (96688) Protosirenidae indet. (206020) |