Eocetus
| Eocetus Temporal range: Late Eocene, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | †Protocetidae |
| Subfamily: | †Georgiacetinae |
| Genus: | †Eocetus Fraas, 1904 |
| Type species | |
| †Eocetus schweinfurthi | |
| Other species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Eocetus (from Ancient Greek ἠώς (ēṓs), meaning "dawn", and Latin cetus, meaning "whale", and thus, "dawn whale") is an extinct protocetid early whale known from the early-late Eocene (Bartonian, 40.4 to 37.2 million years ago) Giushi Formation in Gebel Mokattam, (30°00′N 31°18′E / 30.0°N 31.3°E, paleocoordinates 24°54′N 26°48′E / 24.9°N 26.8°E) outside Cairo, Egypt. Fossil remains have also been discovered in the Aridal Formation of the Sahara Desert in southwestern Morocco.
The type specimen was first named by Fraas as Mesocetus schweinfurthi. However, the name Mesocetus was previously used causing a change to the species name to Eocetus schweinfurthi. Since the genus was first described in the early 20th century, several other specimens, mostly isolated vertebrae, have been attributed to Eocetus, but the taxonomic status of these widely distributed specimens remain disputed.