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Perucetus
Taxonomy
Perucetus was named by Bianucci et al. (2023). Its type is Perucetus colossus.
It was assigned to Basilosauridae by Bianucci et al. (2023).
It was assigned to Basilosauridae by Bianucci et al. (2023).
Species
P. colossus (type species)
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Perucetus Bianucci et al. |
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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.
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| G. Bianucci et al. 2023 | P. colossus differs from all other cetaceans by having an extremely pachyosteosclerotic postcranium. Pachyosteosclerosis is also present in a few other cetaceans13,14, including the basilosaurid Pachycetinae15, but to a substantially lesser degree than observed in this new taxon. P. colossus belongs to Pelagiceti by having a high number of lumbars (at least 11), an extremely reduced innominate, and centra of the last two thoracics and preserved lumbars with a roughly circular cross-section (centrum height/centrum width (CW) > 0.80), not dor- soventrally compressed nor heart-shaped (as observed instead in the more stemward archaeocetes). Within Pelagiceti, P. colossus shares with Basilosaurus, Chrysocetus, Cynthiacetus peruvianus, Mystaco- don and Pachycetus wardii a plesiomorphic, well-defined acetabulum on the innominate, but differs from Basilosaurus, Chrysocetus and Mystacodon and probably Pachycetus by the more robust proximal portion of the ilium, and from Basilosaurus by the larger obturator foramen and the overall shape of the innominate, which is triangular in profile view. P. colossus differs from all cetaceans but Basilosaurinae and Pachycetinae by the great elongation of the centra of the lumbars (centrum length (CL)/CW = 1.25–1.56), approaching the values seen in Pachycetus and Antaecetus (CL/CW = 1.30–1.68); more extreme val- ues are observed in Basilosaurus (CL/CW = 169–1.98) (Extended Data Fig. 6). P. colossus shares with Basilosaurus the giant size (CW > 20 cm) and club-like shape of the distal end of at least some of the ribs. Esti- mated skeletal length: around 17–20 m (Supplementary Methods and Supplementary Fig. 7). |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: o = order | |||||
| Reference: Uhen 2004 | |||||