Basiloterus

Name: Basiloterus ‭(‬other king‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ba-sil-o-teh-rus.
Named By: P.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Gingerich,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Arif,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Bhatti,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Anwar‭ & ‬W.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Sanders‭ ‬-‭ ‬1997.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Cetacea,‭ ‬Basilosauridae,‭ ‬Basilosaurinae.
Species: B.‭ ‬hussaini‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Unavailable due to lack of remains.
Known locations: Pakistan‭ ‬-‭ ‬Drazinda Formation.‭ ‬Possibly England‭ ‬-‭ ‬Barton Beds Formation.
Time period: Bartonian of the Eocene.
Fossil representation: Partial post cranial remains including two lumbar vertebrae.

       The description of the whale genus Basiloterus was only based upon the description of two lumber vertebrae.‭ ‬These vertebrae have been described as being close to the form of the vertebrae of Basilosaurus,‭ ‬though not as long.‭ ‬This may indicate that although similar in form,‭ ‬Basiloterus was quite a bit smaller than the huge Basilosaurus.‭ ‬Whale fossils from the Barton Beds Formation of England have also been identified as possibly belonging to the Basiloterus genus.
The genus name Basilosaurinae means‭ ‘‬other king‭’‬,‭ ‬a reference to the relative genus Basilosaurus which means‭ ‘‬king lizard‭’ (‬information for why a whale was called lizard is on the Basilosaurus page‭)‬.‭ ‬The type species name is in honour of Dr S.‭ ‬Taseer Hussain.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Basilosaurus drazindai and Basiloterus hussaini,‭ ‬New Archaeoceti‭ (‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Cetacea‭) ‬from the Middle Eocene Drazinda Formation,‭ ‬with a Revised Interpretation of Ages of Whale-Bearing Strata in the Kirthar Group of the Sulaiman Range,‭ ‬Punjab‭ (‬Pakistan‭) ‬-‭ ‬Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology,‭ ‬University of Michigan‭ ‬30‭ (‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬55‭–‬81.‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Gingerich,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Arif,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Bhatti,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Anwar‭ & ‬W.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Sanders‭ ‬-‭ ‬1997.



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