The first fossils were uncovered in Pakistan, hence their name. The strata of western Pakistan where the fossils were found was then the coastal region of the Tethys Sea. The first fossil found of the creature consisted of an incomplete skull with a skull cap and a broken mandible with some teeth. It was thought to be from a Mesonychid, but Gingerich and Russell recognized it as an early cetacean from characteristic features of the inner ear, found only in cetaceans: the large auditory bulla is formed from the ectotympanic bone only. This suggests that it is a transitional species between extinct land mammals and modern cetaceans. It was restorated on the cover of Science as a semiaquatic, somewhat as a crocodile-like mammal, diving after fish.
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| rdfs:label
| - Pakicetus
- Pakicetus
- Pakicetus
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| rdfs:comment
| - The first fossils were uncovered in Pakistan, hence their name. The strata of western Pakistan where the fossils were found was then the coastal region of the Tethys Sea. The first fossil found of the creature consisted of an incomplete skull with a skull cap and a broken mandible with some teeth. It was thought to be from a Mesonychid, but Gingerich and Russell recognized it as an early cetacean from characteristic features of the inner ear, found only in cetaceans: the large auditory bulla is formed from the ectotympanic bone only. This suggests that it is a transitional species between extinct land mammals and modern cetaceans. It was restorated on the cover of Science as a semiaquatic, somewhat as a crocodile-like mammal, diving after fish.
- Domain: Eukarya Kingdom: Animalia Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Mammalia Subclass: Theria Infraclass: Eutheria Superorder: Laurasiatheria Clade: Cetartiodactyla Order: Cetacea Family: Pakicetidea Genus: Pakicetus ==Characteristics==
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| abstract
| - Domain: Eukarya Kingdom: Animalia Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Mammalia Subclass: Theria Infraclass: Eutheria Superorder: Laurasiatheria Clade: Cetartiodactyla Order: Cetacea Family: Pakicetidea Genus: Pakicetus ==Characteristics== up to medium dog size [T98]; nares at tip of snout [T+01] or over incisors [T98]; lacrimal foramen present [T+01]; $orbits closely spaced and "frontated," i.e. face dorsally, but are not at most dorsal point of skull [T+01] [T98]; hypoglossal foramen separate from jugular foramen [T98]; external auditory meatus opens low on skull as in land animals.
- The first fossils were uncovered in Pakistan, hence their name. The strata of western Pakistan where the fossils were found was then the coastal region of the Tethys Sea. The first fossil found of the creature consisted of an incomplete skull with a skull cap and a broken mandible with some teeth. It was thought to be from a Mesonychid, but Gingerich and Russell recognized it as an early cetacean from characteristic features of the inner ear, found only in cetaceans: the large auditory bulla is formed from the ectotympanic bone only. This suggests that it is a transitional species between extinct land mammals and modern cetaceans. It was restorated on the cover of Science as a semiaquatic, somewhat as a crocodile-like mammal, diving after fish.
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