Bartoncetus

Bartoncetus; Temporal range: Late Eocene Bartonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Placentalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	†Basilosauridae
Genus:	†Bartoncetus; Van Vliet et al., 2026
Type species
	B. wanklyni; (Seeley, 1876)

Bartoncetus is a genus of extinct archaeocete ceteceans belonging to the Basilosauridae that is known from the Late Eocene of Europe.

Taxonomy

In 1876, Harry Seeley described a skull found in the Wanklyn's Barton Cliff in the United Kingdom as a new species of Zeuglodon, Z. wanklyni.^[1] This specimen, however, went missing after its description, but Z. wanklyni was referred to as Zygorhiza wanklyni by Kellogg (1936) or to as a nomen dubium.^[2] In 2022, Gingerich and colleagues suggested that the lost skull possibly belongs to Pachycetus.^[3] van Vliet et al. (2026) redescribed the taxon as a new genus of dorudontine basilosaurid, Bartoncetus, based on a postcranial specimen and Seeley's description of the holotype skull.^[4]

References

↑ Seeley, H.G. (1876). "Notice of the occurrence of remains of a British fossil Zeuglodon (Z. wanklyni, Seeley) in the Barton Clay of the Hampshire Coast". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 32 (1–4): 428–432. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1876.032.01-04.47.
↑ Uhen, M.D. (1998). "Middle to Late Eocene Basilosaurines and Dorudontines". In Thewissen, J.G.M. (ed.). The Emergence of Whales. Advances in Vertebrate Paleobiology. Vol. 1. pp. 29–61. doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-0159-0_2. ISBN 978-1-4899-0161-3.
↑ Gingerich, P.D.; Amane, A.; Zouhri, S. (2022). "Skull and partial skeleton of a new pachycetine genus (Cetacea, Basilosauridae) from the Aridal Formation, Bartonian middle Eocene, of southwestern Morocco". PLOS ONE. 17 (10) e0276110. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1776110G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0276110. PMC 9604876. PMID 36288346.
↑ van Vliet, H.J.; Hakkens, J.; Paijmans, T.M.; Underwood, C.J.; Verheijen, I.; Bosselaers, M.E.J.; Ward, D.J.; Munsterman, D.K.; Reumer, J.W.F. (2026). "Bartoncetus wanklyni, new genus of a small dorudontine whale from the Bartonian of England; a lost skull and a forgotten postcranial skeleton". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 137 (4) 101201. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2026.101201.

[1] Seeley, H.G. (1876). "Notice of the occurrence of remains of a British fossil Zeuglodon (Z. wanklyni, Seeley) in the Barton Clay of the Hampshire Coast". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 32 (1–4): 428–432. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1876.032.01-04.47.

[2] Uhen, M.D. (1998). "Middle to Late Eocene Basilosaurines and Dorudontines". In Thewissen, J.G.M. (ed.). The Emergence of Whales. Advances in Vertebrate Paleobiology. Vol. 1. pp. 29–61. doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-0159-0_2. ISBN 978-1-4899-0161-3.

[3] Gingerich, P.D.; Amane, A.; Zouhri, S. (2022). "Skull and partial skeleton of a new pachycetine genus (Cetacea, Basilosauridae) from the Aridal Formation, Bartonian middle Eocene, of southwestern Morocco". PLOS ONE. 17 (10) e0276110. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1776110G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0276110. PMC 9604876. PMID 36288346.

[4] van Vliet, H.J.; Hakkens, J.; Paijmans, T.M.; Underwood, C.J.; Verheijen, I.; Bosselaers, M.E.J.; Ward, D.J.; Munsterman, D.K.; Reumer, J.W.F. (2026). "Bartoncetus wanklyni, new genus of a small dorudontine whale from the Bartonian of England; a lost skull and a forgotten postcranial skeleton". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 137 (4) 101201. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2026.101201.

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