Salwasiren

Salwasiren Temporal range: Early Miocene (Aquitanian), 23.03–21.6  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Holotype of Salwasiren
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Sirenia
Family:	Dugongidae
Subfamily:	Dugonginae
Genus:	† Salwasiren Pyenson et al., 2025
Species:	†S. qatarensis
Binomial name
†Salwasiren qatarensis Pyenson et al., 2025

Salwasiren is an extinct genus of dugongid sirenian mammal from the Early Miocene of the Dam Formation (Lower Al-Kharrara Member) of southwestern Qatar. The genus contains a single species, Salwasiren qatarensis. ^[1] The generic name, Salwasiren, is a reference to the Gulf of Salwah, while the specific name, qatarensis refers to Qatar, the country in which it was found. ^[2]

Discovery and naming

The fossils of Salwasiren were discovered in 2023–2024 when Pyenson and colleagues were prospecting fossil-bearing outcrops of the Dam Formation in southwestern Qatar. In 2025, Pyenson et al. named Salwasiren qatarensis as a new genus and species based on the discovered material. ^[1]

The holotype of S. qatarensis consists of fossilised remains of an incomplete cranium, a mandible, a maxillary second molar, a sternum, two scapulae, two humeri, an ilium, and a partial vertebral column. ^[1] An incomplete left incisor was also referred to this species. ^[1]

Classification

The cladogram below illustrates the results of the phylogenetic analysis done by Pyenson et al. (2025). ^[1]

Sirenia

Trichechidae (manatees and their fossil relatives) † Kaupitherium spp. † Lentiarenium cristolii † Priscosiren atlantica † Caribosiren turneri † Stegosiren macei Dugongidae † Dusisiren spp. + † Metaxytherium spp. + † Hydrodamalis spp. Dugonginae † Crenatosiren olseni † Italosiren bellunensis †Salwasiren qatarensis † Nanosiren spp. Dugong dugon † Corystosiren varguezi † Callistosiren boriquensis † Rytiodus heali † Domningia sodhae † Dioplotherium manigaulti † Xenosiren yucateca † Norosiren zazavavindrano † Kutchisiren cylindrica † Rytiodus capgrandi † Bharatisiren spp. † Culebratherium alemani † Dioplotherium allisoni

Palaeoenvironment

Salwasiren likely lived alongside multiple indeterminate odontocete cetaceans, turtles, teleosts and carcharhiniform sharks. ^[1]

References

1. Pyenson, Nicholas D.; Sakal, Ferhan; LeBlanc, Jacques; Blundell, Jon; Klim, Katherine D.; Marshall, Christopher D.; Velez-Juarbe, Jorge; Wolfe, Katherine; Al-Naimi, Faisal (10 December 2025). "High abundance of Early Miocene sea cows from Qatar shows repeated evolution of seagrass ecosystem engineers in Eastern Tethys". PeerJ . 13 e20030. doi: 10.7717/peerj.20030 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   12701702 . PMID   41394419 . Retrieved 9 January 2026– via PubMed.
2. "New fossils in Qatar reveal a tiny sea cow hidden for 21 million years". Science Daily via The Smithsonian. 12 December 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2026.