? Archaeoceti Fossil range: Eocene to Miocene (non-Autocetan)
Pakicetus, one of the very first archeocetids
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Suborder: Archaeoceti
Families and Clades
see text The Eocene epoch (56-34 Ma) is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era. ... The Miocene epoch is a period of time that extends from about 23 to 5. ... Image File history File links Pakicetus. ... Binomial name Pakicetus inachus Gingerich & Russell, 1981 Pakicetus is a genus of extinct cetaceans found in the upper Eocene of Pakistan, whence their name. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ...

Archaeoceti, or "ancient whales" are a paraphyletic group of cetaceans that gave rise to Autoceti - the new cetaceans. The archaeoceti once thought to have evolved from the mesonychids. However, recent studies show that the first whales or the archaeoceti might have evolved from the Acreodi - which was ancestral to mesonychids. So, mesonychids and the cetaceans shared a common ancestors. The skulls and teeth of early cetaceans such as Archaeocetes strongly resemble those of certain Acreodi, and the Acreodi ungulates probabaly gave rise to hippopotamuses as well, which are the closest relatives of cetaceans. The ancestors of archaeoceti probably diverged from artiodactyls in the Latest Cretaceous or Early Paleocene. Most archeocetids had hind limbs unlike the cetaceans of today. The very first archaeocetid was probably fully terrestrial. As the Eocene progressed the archaeocetids were becoming less terrestrial and more aquatic. By the Late or latest Eocene the archaeocetids, the basilosaurids gave rise to early modern cetaceans. Paraphyletic - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Mesonychids are an extinct order of even-toed carnivorous ungulates (hoofed animals) which looked like wolves, and were scavengers for carrion and hunters of fish. ... Mesonychids are an extinct order of even-toed carnivorous ungulates (hoofed animals) which looked like wolves, and were scavengers for carrion and hunters of fish. ... A hippopotamus skull A skull, or cranium, is a bony structure of Craniates which serves as the general framework for a head. ... Types of teeth Molars are used for grinding up foods Carnassials are used for slicing food. ... Llamas such as this, which have two toes, are artiodactylas -- even toed ungulates Ungulates (meaning roughly hoofed or hoofed animal) make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive. ... Binomial name Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus, 1758 The Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or Greek ίππόποταμος (river horse) is a large, plant-eating African mammal, one of only two living and three (or four) recently extinct species in the family Hippopotamidae. ... The Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period, about 146 million years ago (Ma), to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65. ... The Paleocene, early dawn of the recent, is a geologic epoch that lasted from 65 Ma to 56 Ma (million years ago). ... The Eocene epoch (56-34 Ma) is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in the Cenozoic era. ... Look up aquatic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The remingtonocetids

The more aquatic Basilosaurus.

Image File history File links Kutchicetus. ... Image File history File links Kutchicetus. ... Image File history File links Basilosaurus_illustration. ... Image File history File links Basilosaurus_illustration. ... Species Basilosaurus cetoides Basilosaurus drazindai Basilosaurus isis Basilosaurus was a genus of cetacean that lived from 40 to 37 million years ago in the Eocene. ...

Taxonomy and Phylogeny

• Superorder Cetartiodactyla (or Acreodi)
  • Order Cetacea
    • Suborder Archaeoceti
      • • Family Physeteridae
          • Genus ?Ferecetotherium (the most primitive cetacean)
        • Family Pakicetidae
      • (?unranked) ?Ambulocetoidea
        • • Genus Himalayacetus
          • Genus Gandakasia
        • Family Ambulocetidae
          • Genus Ambulocetus
        • Family Remingtonocetidae
        • Family Protocetidae
        • Subfamily Indocetinae
          • Genus Protocetus
          • Genus Georgiacetus
        • Family Basilosauridae
        • Subfamily Basilosaurinae
          • Genus Basilosaurus
        • Subfamily Dorudontinae
          • Genus Dorudon
    • (unranked) Autoceta
    • Suborder Mysticeti
    • Suborder Odontoceti
      • (unranked) Squalodontoidea
        • Genus Squalodon

Humpback Whale breaching. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Genera Kogia Physeter The sperm whale family or simply the sperm whales is the collective name given to three species of whale, the Sperm Whale, the Pygmy Sperm Whale and the Dwarf Sperm Whale. ... ... Ambulocetidae is a family of early cetaceans that could walk on land. ... Binomial name Ambulcetus natans Thewissen et al. ... Binomial name Protocetus atavus Fraas, 1904 Protocetus atavus (first whale) is an extinct species of primitive cetacean. ... Species Basilosaurus cetoides Basilosaurus drazindai Basilosaurus isis Basilosaurus was a genus of cetacean that lived from 40 to 37 million years ago in the Eocene. ... Dorudons were a species of ancient cetacean that lived alongside basilosaurus. ... Families Balaenidae Balaenopteridae Eschrichtiidae Neobalaenidae Scientifically known as the Mysticeti, the baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales, form a suborder of the order cetacea. ... Families See text The toothed whales (systematic name Odontoceti) form a suborder of the cetaceans. ... Squalodon is an extinct genus of whales, belonging to the family Phocodontia. ...

See also

Cetaceans Portal

• Evolution of Cetaceans
• Cetaceans
• Mesonychid
• Cetartiodactyla