# Pappocetus

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{{Short description|Genus of mammals}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic Taxobox
| name = ''Pappocetus''
| fossil_range = [Late Eocene](/source/Eocene), {{Fossil range|40.4|37.2}}}
| image = Andrews-1920-Plate-1-Pappocetus-ligardi.JPEG
| image_caption = ''Pappocetus lugardi'' specimens from {{Harvnb|Andrews|1919}}
| image2 = Pappocetus lugardi reconstructed skull.jpg
| image2_caption = Reconstructed skull at the [Vancouver Aquarium](/source/Vancouver_Aquarium)
| taxon = Pappocetus
| authority = {{Harvnb|Andrews|1919}}
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = * {{Extinct}}'''''P. lugardi'''''<br /><small>{{Harvnb|Andrews|1919}}</small>
}}

'''''Pappocetus''''' (meaning "grandfather whale") is an extinct [protocetid](/source/Protocetidae) [cetacea](/source/cetacea)n known from the [Eocene](/source/Eocene) of southern [Nigeria's](/source/Nigeria) [Ameki Formation](/source/Ameki_Formation) and [Togo](/source/Togo).<ref>{{Paleodb|taxon|36794|Pappocetus}}. Retrieved April 2013.</ref> More recently, fossil teeth and femurs have also been discovered in the [Aridal Formation](/source/Aridal_Formation) of the [Sahara Desert](/source/Sahara) in southwestern [Morocco](/source/Morocco).<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Gingerich |first=Philip D. |last2=Zouhri |first2=Samir |date=November 2015 |title=New fauna of archaeocete whales (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Bartonian middle Eocene of southern Morocco |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1464343X1530039X |journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences |language=en |volume=111 |pages=273–286 |doi=10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2015.08.006|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The species is named after Sir [Frederick Lugard](/source/Frederick_Lugard%2C_1st_Baron_Lugard) who sent one of the specimens to [Andrews](/source/Charles_William_Andrews).

== Description ==
''Pappocetus'' is the largest known protocetid (if ''[Eocetus](/source/Eocetus)'' is recovered as a [basilosaurid](/source/Basilosauridae)).<ref name=":0" /> Its body size was estimated to be similar to that of ''Eocetus''. It also differs from all other known protocetid genera by the step-like notch on the ventral margin of the mandible below M<sub>2</sub> and M<sub>3</sub>; from ''[Indocetus](/source/Indocetus)'' and ''[Rodhocetus](/source/Rodhocetus)'' by the deciduous double-rooted P<sub>1</sub>; from ''[Protocetus](/source/Protocetus)'' and ''[Babiacetus](/source/Babiacetus)'' by the presence of accessory cuspules; and from ''Babiacetus'' by the unfused [symphysis](/source/mandibular_symphysis) terminating just before P<sub>3</sub>. Its molar morphology is similar to ''[Georgiacetus](/source/Georgiacetus)''.<ref name="Williams" />

=== Specimens ===
The [type specimen](/source/type_specimen) BMNH M11414 is an incomplete left mandible with [symphysis](/source/Mandibular_symphysis), a deciduous premolar, and unerupted molars.<ref name="Williams">{{Harvnb|Williams|1998| pp=11–12}}</ref> It was found in [Bartonian](/source/Bartonian) ({{Mya|40.4|37.2}}) layers of the [Ameki Formation](/source/Ameki_Formation) ({{Coord|6.0|7.0|display=inline}}, paleocoordinates {{Coord|1.8|1.7|display=inline}})<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|32906|Port Harcourt RR}}. Retrieved April 2013.</ref> in<!-- the [historical?] Ombialla District in --> southern Nigeria.<ref name="Williams" /><ref>{{Paleodb|taxon|53999|Pappocetus lugardi}}. Retrieved April 2013.</ref>
left|thumb|Left ramus of the mandible
The specimen M11086 is a left mandibular ramus broken in three pieces with sockets for canines and incisors and the front part of a single-rooted P<sub>1</sub>.  Andrews, to whom the two specimens were brought separately, noted that they "to some extent supplement one another, so that the structure is fairly clear" and thus estimated the size and morphology of the missing parts by comparing the specimens to each other.<ref>{{Harvnb|Andrews|1919| p=309}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite journal
 | last = Andrews | first = C. W. | author-link = Charles William Andrews
 | title = A description of new species of zeuglodont and of leathery turtle from the Eocene of Southern Nigeria
 | year = 1919 | journal = Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London | volume = 18 | issue = 3–4 | pages = 309–19
 | url = http://biostor.org/reference/99760 | access-date = 22 April 2013
 | oclc = 228169273 | doi = 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1919.tb02124.x }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Andrews|1920}} -->
* {{Cite book
 | last = Williams | first = Ellen M.
 | chapter = Synopsis of the Earliest Cetaceans
 | editor-last = Thewissen | editor-first = J. G. M.
 | title = The Emergence of Whales | series = Advances in vertebrate paleobiology
 | year = 1998 | location = New York | publisher = Plenum Press
 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zgWIL6ELoJoC&pg=PA11 | access-date = 22 April 2013
 | isbn = 9780306458538 | oclc = 300450327 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Williams|1998}} -->
{{Refend}}

{{Archaeoceti}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q13156613}}

Category:Protocetidae
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1920
Category:Monotypic prehistoric cetacean genera
Category:Eocene mammals of Africa

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pappocetus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pappocetus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pappocetus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.