Dorudon
Dorudon ("spear-tooth") was a genus of ancient cetacean. It lived alongside Basilosaurus, 41 to 33 million years ago, in the Eocene.
| Dorudon Temporal range: late Eocene
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| Dorudon atrox, Senckenberg Museum | |
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| Genus: | Dorudon Gibbes, 1845
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They were about five meters (16 ft) long and were most likely carnivorous, feeding on small fish and molluscs. Dorudon lived in warm seas around the world., Fossils have been found along the former shorelines of the Tethys Sea in present-day Western Sahara, Egypt, Pakistan, the United States, and New Zealand. Most finds have been in Egypt.[1]
Dorudon Media
Dorsal and right lateral views of reconstructed skeleton of Dorudon atrox
Size of Dorudon (upper left) compared to closely related basilosaurids and a human
Virtually complete Dorudon atrox skeleton excavated at Wadi El Hitan, displayed at the University of Michigan museum
Restoration of D. serratus
Dorudon hind limbs, an example of vestigial organs, at Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington, D.C.
References
- ↑ "Paleobiology database". Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-03-14.