Hypsamasia

Last updated

Hypsamasia
Temporal range: Middle Eocene
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Embrithopoda
Family: Palaeoamasiidae
Genus: Hypsamasia
Maas, Thewissen & Kappelman 1998
Species:
H. seni
Binomial name
Hypsamasia seni

Hypsamasia is an extinct embrithopod mammal that lived during the middle Eocene. [1] Dental remains of this herbivore [2] have been found in the Kartal Formation near the village Saribeylar ( 40°06′N32°42′E / 40.1°N 32.7°E / 40.1; 32.7 , paleocoordinates 38°12′N28°12′E / 38.2°N 28.2°E / 38.2; 28.2 ) [3] north of Ankara in what is today Anatolia. [1]

Hypsamasia seni was named in reference to its high crowned cheek teeth (Greek: hypsos, "height"), the type locality (the Roman town and province Amasya), and after Dr Sevket Sen for his important contribution to the paleontology and geology of western Asia. [4]

Hypsamasia differs from Palaeoamasia in its larger size and the highly crowned teeth. Other, unnamed embrithopods have been found in the Kartal Formation. Embrithopods are best known from northern Africa, but their range encompassed Central Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Romania. The Turkish paleoamasiids are older and are therefore assumed to be more primitive. [5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Maas, Thewissen & Kappelman 1998
  2. Hypsamasia in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  3. Saribeylar in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  4. Maas, Thewissen & Kappelman 1998 , Systematic Paleontology, Etymology 1 & 2
  5. Maas, Thewissen & Kappelman 1998 , Discussion, pp. 290–1

Related Research Articles

Pakicetidae Family of mammals

Pakicetidae is an extinct family of Archaeoceti that lived during the Early Eocene in Pakistan.

Embrithopoda Order of mammals

Embrithopoda ("heavy-footed") is an order of extinct mammals known from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Most of the embrithopod genera are known exclusively from jaws and teeth dated from the late Paleocene to the late Eocene; however, the order is best known from its terminal member, the elephantine Arsinoitherium.

<i>Pakicetus</i> Genus of ancient whales

Pakicetus is an extinct genus of amphibious cetacean of the family Pakicetidae, which was endemic to Pakistan during the Eocene, about 50 million years ago. It was an animal rather like a wolf, about 1 metre to 2 metres long, and lived in and around water where it ate fish and small animals. The vast majority of paleontologists regard it as the most basal whale, representing a transitional stage between land mammals and whales. It belongs to the even-toed ungulates with the closest living relative being the hippopotamus.

Archaeoceti Paraphyletic group of primitive cetaceans from Early Eocene to Late Oligocene

Archaeoceti, or Zeuglodontes in older literature, is a paraphyletic group of primitive cetaceans that lived from the Early Eocene to the late Oligocene. Representing the earliest cetacean radiation, they include the initial amphibious stages in cetacean evolution, thus are the ancestors of both modern cetacean suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti. This initial diversification occurred in the shallow waters that separated India and Asia 53 to 45 mya, resulting in some 30 species adapted to a fully oceanic life; though both echolocation and filter-feeding evolved during a second radiation 36 to 35 mya.

Anthracobunidae Extinct family of mammals

Anthracobunidae is an extinct family of stem perissodactyls that lived in the early to middle Eocene period. They were originally considered to be a paraphyletic family of primitive proboscideans possibly ancestral to the Moeritheriidae and the desmostylians. The family has also thought to be ancestral to the Sirenia.

Himalayacetus is an extinct genus of carnivorous aquatic mammal of the family Ambulocetidae. The holotype was found in Himachal Pradesh, India, in what was the remnants of the ancient Tethys Ocean during the Early Eocene. This makes Himalayacetus the oldest archaeocete known, extending the fossil record of whales some 3.5 million years.

Nalacetus is an extinct pakicetid early whale, fossils of which have been found in Lutetian red beds in Punjab, Pakistan. Nalacetus lived in a fresh water environment, was amphibious, and carnivorous. It was considered monophyletic by Cooper, Thewissen & Hussain 2009. It was said to be wolf-sized and one of the earliest forms of the order Cetacea.

<i>Ichthyolestes</i> Genus of mammals

Ichthyolestes is an extinct genus of archaic cetacean that was endemic to Indo-Pakistan during the Lutetian stage. To date, this monotypic genus is only represented by Ichthyolestes pinfoldi.

<i>Kutchicetus</i> Genus of mammals (fossil)

Kutchicetus is an extinct genus of early whale of the family Remingtonocetidae that lived during Early-Middle Eocene in what is now the coastal border of Pakistan and India. It is closely related to Andrewsiphius with which it was synonymized by Gingerich et al. 2001. Thewissen & Bajpai 2009 proposed a new clade, Andrewsiphiinae, for the two species. Later authors, however, still accept both as separate genera.

<i>Remingtonocetus</i> Genus of mammals

Remingtonocetus is an extinct genus of early cetacean freshwater aquatic mammals of the family Remingtonocetidae endemic to the coastline of the ancient Tethys Ocean during the Eocene. It was named after naturalist Remington Kellogg.

<i>Cynthiacetus</i> Genus of mammals

Cynthiacetus is an extinct genus of basilosaurid early whale that lived during the Late Eocene Specimens have been found in the southeastern United States and Peru.

Remingtonocetidae Family of mammals

Remingtonocetidae is a diverse family of early aquatic mammals of the order Cetacea. The family is named after paleocetologist Remington Kellogg.

Gaviacetus is an extinct archaeocete whale that lived approximately 45 million years ago. Gaviacetus was named for its characteristic narrow rostrum and the fast pursuit predation suggested by its unfused sacral vertebrae.

Phenacodontidae Family of tetrapods

Phenacodontidae is an extinct family of large herbivorous mammals traditionally placed in the “wastebasket taxon” Condylarthra, which may instead represent early-stage perissodactyls. They lived in the Paleocene and Eocene epochs and their fossil remains have been found in North America and Europe.

Willwood Formation

The Willwood Formation is a sedimentary sequence deposited during the late Paleocene to early Eocene, or Clarkforkian, Wasatchian and Bridgerian in the NALMA classification.

Babiacetus is an extinct genus of early cetacean that lived during the late Lutetian middle Eocene of India . It was named after its type locality, the Harudi Formation in the Babia Hills, Kutch District, Gujarat, India.

Palaeoamasiidae or Palaeoamasinae is an extinct taxon of embrithopod mammals that have been found in Romania and Anatolia where they lived on the shores of the Tethys Ocean.

<i>Indocetus</i> Genus of mammals

Indocetus is a protocetid early whale known from the late early Eocene Harudi Formation in Kutch, India.

Megalohyrax is an extinct hyrax-grouped genus of herbivorous mammal that lived during the Miocene, Oligocene, and Eocene, about 55-11 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in Africa and in Asia Minor.

Hans Thewissen Dutch/American paleontologist

Hans Thewissen is a Dutch-American paleontologist.

References