Gandakasia

Gandakasia is an extinct genus of ambulocetid from Pakistan, that lived in the Eocene epoch. It probably caught its prey near rivers or streams.

Gandakasia
Temporal range: Early Eocene, 49 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: †Ambulocetidae
Genus: †Gandakasia
Dehm & Oettingen-Spielberg, 1958
Species:
†G. potens
Binomial name
†Gandakasia potens
Dehm & Oettingen-Spielberg, 1958[1]

Just like Himalayacetus, Gandakasia is only known from a single jaw fragment, making comparisons to other ambulocetids difficult.[2]

The first ambulocetid to be described, Gandakasia was not initially recognized as a cetacean.[3]

Gandakasia probably inhabited a freshwater niche similar to the pakicetids.[2]

References
  1. Dehm, R.; Oettingen-Spielberg, T. (1958). Die mitteleocänen Säugetiere von Ganda Kas bei Basal in Nordwest-Pakistan [The Middle Eocene mammals of Ganda Kas near Basal in northwestern Pakistan] (in German). Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
  2. Cooper, Lisa Noelle; Thewissen, J. G.M.; Hussain, S. T. (2009). "New middle Eocene archaeocetes (Cetacea: Mammalia) from the Kuldana Formation of northern Pakistan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (4): 1289–1299. doi:10.1671/039.029.0423.
  3. Ando, Konami; Fujiwara, Shin‐Ichi (2016). "Farewell to life on land – thoracic strength as a new indicator to determine paleoecology in secondary aquatic mammals". Journal of Anatomy. 229 (6): 768–777. doi:10.1111/joa.12518. PMC 5108153. PMID 27396988.


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