PBDB Taxon

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Basilosaurus

Mammalia - Cetacea - Basilosauridae

Taxonomy

Basilosaurus was named by Harlan (1834) [Sepkoski's age data: T Eo-m-u T Eo-u Sepkoski's reference number: 1022]. Its type is Zygorhiza kochii. It was considered monophyletic by Uhen (2008), Martinez-Cáceres and Muizon (2011).

It was replaced with Zeuglodon by Owen (1839), Muller (1849), Bronn (1853), Pictet (1853), Scott (1873), Zittel (1894), Trouessart (1898), Zittel (1925).

It was assigned to Prozeuglodontidae by Moustafa (1954); to Zeuglodontidae by Stromer (1908), Mchedlidze (1970); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Cetaceamorpha by Spaulding et al. (2009); to Basilosaurinae by McKenna and Bell (1997), Uhen (1998), van Vliet (2004), Uhen (2004), McLeod and Barnes (2008), Uhen (2008), Uhen (2009), Schouten (2011), Gao and Ni (2015), Mahdy et al. (2019); and to Basilosauridae by Cope (1867), Gill (1871), Hay (1902), Trouessart (1904), Palmer (1904), Miller (1923), Kellogg (1928), Hay (1930), Kellogg (1936), Simpson (1945), Sherman (1952), Halstead and Middleton (1972), Thurmond and Jones (1981), Hooker (1986), Carroll (1988), Benton (1993), Gingerich et al. (1997), Bergqvist et al. (1999), Thewissen et al. (2001), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Clementz et al. (2006), Fitzgerald (2010), Martinez-Cáceres and Muizon (2011), Gingerich (2012), Uhen (2013), El-kheir et al. (2013), Gingerich and Cappetta (2014), Boessenecker and Fordyce (2015), Martínez-Cáceres et al. (2017), Berta (2017), Uhen (2018), Zalmout et al. (2020), Smith et al. (2021).

Species

B. cetoides (syn. Zeuglodon ceti, Alabamornis gigantea, Zeuglodon macrospondylus, Zeuglodon harlani, Hydrarchos sillimani, Hydrargos sillimanii), B. isis, B. puschi, Hydrarchos harlani

Synonyms

Zugodon was named by Scudder (1882) [Typographical error for Zeuglodon according to Kellogg (1936, p. 14).].

It was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus by Kellogg (1936), Uhen (2013).
Hydrarchos was named by Koch (1845). It is not extant. It is the type genus of Hydrarchidae.

It was synonymized subjectively with Zeuglodon by Zittel (1894); it was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus by Gibbes (1847), Gill (1872), Kellogg (1936).

It was assigned to Basilosauridae by Palmer (1904).
Zeuglodon was named by Owen (1839). Its type is Phococetus vasconum.

It was synonymized objectively with Basilosaurus by Reichenbach (1847), Gibbes (1847), Gill (1871), Gill (1872), Hay (1902), Trouessart (1904), Hay (1930), Kellogg (1936), Simpson (1945), Mchedlidze (1970), Gingerich (1992), Uhen (1998), Bergqvist et al. (1999), Uhen (2002), Uhen (2013).

It was assigned to Manatidae by De Kay (1842); to Cetacea by Bronn (1853); to Zeuglodontes by Pictet (1853); to Zeugloceta by Haeckel (1866); to Zeuglodontia by Scott (1873); to Stegorhinidae by Brandt (1874); to Gymnorhinidae by Brandt (1874); to Basilosauridae by Palmer (1904); to Zeuglodontidae by Lydekker (1887), Cope (1890), Zittel (1894), Trouessart (1898), Andrews (1906), Abel (1914), Abel (1919), Winge (1921), Zittel (1925); and to Zeuglodontinae by Slijper (1936).
Hydrargos was named by Koch (1845).

It was synonymized objectively with Hydrarchos by Koch (1845); it was replaced with Hydrarchus by Muller (1849); it was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus by Kellogg (1936), Uhen (2013).
Hydrarchos harlani was named by Koch (1845). It is a compression fossil. Its type locality is Washington Old Court House, which is in a Priabonian coastal marl in the Yazoo Formation of Alabama.

It was synonymized subjectively with Zeuglodon macrospondylus by Bronn (1853); it was considered a nomen nudum by Uhen (2005); it was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus cetoides by Kellogg (1936), Thurmond and Jones (1981), Uhen (2013).
Alabamornis was named by Abel (1906).

It was synonymized subjectively with Zeuglodon by Lucas (1908); it was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus by Kellogg (1936), Uhen (2013).

It was assigned to Aves by Abel (1906).
Zeuglodon puschii was named by Brandt (1873) [Kellogg (1936) identifies Brandt (1873 Untersuchungen uber die...) as the source of this name, but his own dates for the publications indicate that this reference was earlier.]. It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Inowlodz, which is in a Tertiary fissure fill limestone in Poland.

It was recombined as Basilosaurus puschi by Trouessart (1904), Kalmykov (2012); it was considered a nomen dubium by Stromer (1903), Abel (1914), Kellogg (1936), Lloyd and Slater (2020).
Hydrarchus was named by Muller (1849). It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Zeuglodon by Bronn (1853), Pictet (1853), Scott (1873), Trouessart (1898); it was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus by Kellogg (1936), Uhen (2013).
Zyglodon was named by Hammerschmidt (1848). It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Zeuglodon by Bronn (1853), Pictet (1853), Trouessart (1898); it was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus by Kellogg (1936), Uhen (2013).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1834	Basilosaurus Harlan p. 403 figs. Plate XX
1839	Zeuglodon Owen p. 28
1842	Zeuglodon De Kay p. 123
1845	Hydrarchos Koch
1845	Hydrarchos harlani Koch
1845	Hydrargos Koch
1845	Hydrarchos harlani Koch p. 1
1849	Hydrarchus Muller p. 3
1853	Zeuglodon Bronn p. 763
1853	Zeuglodon Pictet p. 376
1866	Zeuglodon Haeckel figs. Plate VIII
1867	Basilosaurus Cope p. 144
1871	Basilosaurus Gill p. 125
1873	Zeuglodon puschii Brandt p. 112
1873	Zeuglodon Scott p. 57
1874	Zeuglodon Brandt p. III
1882	Zugodon Scudder p. 357
1887	Zeuglodon Lydekker p. 49
1890	Zeuglodon Cope p. 602
1894	Zeuglodon Zittel p. 167
1898	Zeuglodon Trouessart p. 1009
1898	Zeuglodon puschii Trouessart p. 1010
1902	Basilosaurus Hay p. 586
1904	Basilosaurus Palmer p. 134
1904	Hydrarchos Palmer p. 334
1904	Zeuglodon Palmer p. 715
1904	Basilosaurus Trouessart p. 753
1904	Basilosaurus puschi Trouessart p. 753
1906	Alabamornis Abel pp. 450-458
1906	Zeuglodon Andrews p. 236
1908	Basilosaurus Stromer p. 148
1914	Zeuglodon Abel p. 220
1919	Zeuglodon Abel p. 751
1921	Zeuglodon Winge p. 7
1923	Basilosaurus Miller p. 40
1925	Zeuglodon Zittel p. 84
1928	Basilosaurus Kellogg p. 32 figs. Table 1
1930	Basilosaurus Hay p. 569
1936	Basilosaurus Kellogg p. 14
1936	Zeuglodon Slijper
1945	Basilosaurus Simpson p. 100
1952	Basilosaurus Sherman p. 99
1954	Basilosaurus Moustafa p. 87
1970	Basilosaurus Mchedlidze p. 50
1972	Basilosaurus Halstead and Middleton
1981	Basilosaurus Thurmond and Jones p. 193
1986	Basilosaurus Hooker p. 342
1988	Basilosaurus Carroll
1993	Basilosaurus Benton p. 761
1997	Basilosaurus Gingerich et al.
1997	Basilosaurus McKenna and Bell p. 369
1998	Basilosaurus Uhen p. 31
1999	Basilosaurus Bergqvist et al. p. 31
2001	Basilosaurus Thewissen et al. p. 351 figs. Table 1
2002	Basilosaurus Sepkoski
2003	Basilosaurus Geisler and Sanders p. 27
2004	Basilosaurus Uhen p. 12
2004	Basilosaurus van Vliet p. 143
2006	Basilosaurus Clementz et al. p. 359
2008	Basilosaurus McLeod and Barnes p. 94
2008	Basilosaurus Uhen p. 561
2009	Basilosaurus Spaulding et al. p. 3
2009	Basilosaurus Uhen p. 93
2010	Basilosaurus Fitzgerald p. 370 figs. Table 1
2011	Basilosaurus Martinez-Cáceres and Muizon p. 518
2011	Basilosaurus Schouten p. 18
2012	Basilosaurus Gingerich p. 313 figs. Figure 4
2012	Basilosaurus puschi Kalmykov p. 179
2013	Basilosaurus El-kheir et al. p. 465
2013	Basilosaurus Uhen p. 5 figs. Figure 3
2014	Basilosaurus Gingerich and Cappetta p. 128 figs. Figure 16
2015	Basilosaurus Boessenecker and Fordyce figs. Table 1
2015	Basilosaurus Gao and Ni p. 156 figs. Table 1
2017	Basilosaurus Berta p. 159
2017	Basilosaurus Martínez-Cáceres et al. p. 11
2018	Basilosaurus Uhen
2019	Basilosaurus Mahdy et al.
2020	Basilosaurus Zalmout et al. p. 130
2021	Basilosaurus Smith et al.

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()

Rank	Name	Author
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
—	Boreoeutheria
—	Laurasiatheria
—	Scrotifera
—	Euungulata
—	Artiodactylamorpha
—	Artiodactyla	()
—	Whippomorpha
order	Cetacea
—	Pelagiceti
family	Basilosauridae
genus	Basilosaurus

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.

G. †Basilosaurus Harlan 1834

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†Basilosaurus cetoides Owen 1839

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Invalid names: Alabamornis gigantea Abel 1906 [synonym], Hydrarchos sillimani Wyman 1845 [synonym], Hydrargos sillimanii Koch 1845 [synonym], Zeuglodon ceti Wyman 1845 [synonym], Zeuglodon harlani De Kay 1842 [synonym], Zeuglodon macrospondylus Müller 1849 [synonym]

†Basilosaurus isis Andrews 1904

Invalid names: Alabamornis Abel 1906 [synonym], Basilosaurus puschi Brandt 1873 [nomen dubium], Hydrarchos Koch 1845 [synonym], Hydrarchus Muller 1849 [synonym], Hydrargos Koch 1845 [synonym], Zeuglodon Owen 1839 [objective synonym], Zugodon Scudder 1882 [synonym], Zygodon Owen 1839 [synonym]

Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
M. D. Uhen 2008	Basilosaurus is distinguished from other basilosaurids by its large body size and elongate posterior thoracic, lumbar, and anterior caudal vertebrae. Basilosaurus lacks the vertically oriented metapophyses seen in Basiloterus (Gingerich et al., 1997).
M. D. Uhen 2013	Members of the genus Basilosaurus can be distinguished from all other basilosaurids by their large size (>15 m length) and the great elongation of the pos- terior thoracic, lumbar, and anterior caudal vertebral bodies (length around 2 times width or height). Vertebrae assigned to members of Basilotritus wardii and related taxa share a somewhat similar elongation in the trunk verte- brae, but not to the same degree as seen in Basilosaurus. In addition, the pedicles, neural arches, neural spines, and transverse processes of the trunk vertebrae of Basilotritus wardii and related taxa are also greatly elongated, while in Basilosaurus, they are not elongated to the same degree, and the number of thoracic vertebrae in Basilotritus wardii is 12, like that of Protocetidae and unlike other Basilosau- ridae. See Remarks section below.

Measurements

No measurements are available

Composition:

hydroxyapatiteo

Form:

roller-shapedo

Ontogeny:

modification of partso

Environment:

marineo

Locomotion:

actively mobileo

Life habit:

aquatico

Depth habitat:

surfaceo

Diet:

carnivoreo

Reproduction:

viviparouso

Created:

2005-03-06 14:19:05

Modified:

2017-04-17 10:41:18

Source: o = order

Reference: Uhen 2004

Age range: base of the Bartonian to the top of the Priabonian or 41.03000 to 33.90000 Ma

Collections (87 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Paleogene	66.0 - 23.04	Ukraine (Luhansk)	Zeuglodon sp. (224763)
Tertiary	66.0 - 2.58	Poland	Zeuglodon puschii (77355)
Eocene	56.0 - 33.9	USA (Mississippi)	B. cetoides (131913)
Bartonian	41.03 - 37.71	USA (Florida)	B. sp. (49882)
Bartonian	41.03 - 37.71	Antarctica	Zeuglodon sp. (77358)
Bartonian	41.03 - 37.71	Egypt	Zeuglodon sp. (96950 97545)
Bartonian - Priabonian	41.03 - 33.9	USA (Florida)	B. sp. (81604)
Late/Upper Eocene	37.71 - 33.9	Egypt	Zeuglodon sp. (40516)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	Jordan	B. isis (32899)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	USA (Arkansas)	B. cetoides (16549 122718)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	USA (Tennessee)	B. cetoides (32902)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	Western Sahara	Basilosaurus indet. (206018) B. isis (159110 159112 159114 159115) B. sp. (96686 96688 206020)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	USA (Louisiana)	B. cetoides (32925 75638)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	USA (Mississippi)	B. cetoides (32926 45627 45628 45629 45630 45631 45632 45633 45634 45636 55689 55868 132844 135787 211383 211384 211430) Zeuglodon sp. (45635 84058 132820 132822 132823 132824 132825 211351)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	USA (South Carolina)	B. sp. (32908 206945)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	USA (Florida)	B. brachyspondylus (57123) B. cetoides (57122) zeuglodont sp. (32916)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	Egypt (Fayum)	B. cetoides (175726) B. isis (13103 13402 13403 83938) Zeuglodon sp. (74737 74738)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	USA (Georgia)	B. cetoides (132660 202045 211382) B. sp. (138667)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	Ukraine (Kiev)	B. sp. (183530)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	Egypt	B. cetoides (123919) B. isis (13102 79677 79678 79681 96952 137568 198761) Zeuglodon isis (49924 65974)
Priabonian	37.71 - 33.9	USA (Alabama)	B. cetoides (28983 28986 45638 76685 89613 131804 131832 204941) B. sp. (45637) Zeuglodon cetoides (86949) Zeuglodon sp. (84754 86948)