Chrysocetus

Chrysocetus Temporal range: Eocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Superorder:	†Archaeoceti
Order:	Cetacea
Family:	†Basilosauridae
Subfamily:	†Dorudontinae
Genus:	†Chrysocetus Uhen & Gingerich 2001
Species
Chrysocetus fouadassiiGingerich and Zouhri, 2015 Chrysocetus healyorumUhen and Gingerich, 2001 (type)

Chrysocetus (from Greek chrysous, "golden", and ketos, "whale", in reference to the gold-colored bones of the type specimen) is a genus of extinct early whale known from Late Eocene-aged fossils of the eastern US and western Africa.

Taxonomy

The type species, Chrysocetus healyorum, is based on a single subadult specimen from the late middle or early late Eocene of Orangeburg County, South Carolina (, paleocoordinates ). The holotype, SCSM 87.195, consists of a partial skull with lower jaws, ten teeth, and the hyoid apparatus; 21 vertebrae, some ribs and a sternum; a partial left forelimb; and partial innominates.

A second species, Chrysocetus fouadassii, is known from Bartonian-age deposits in the Western Sahara.

Description

Chrysocetus is similar to Zygorhiza except that it lacks the denticles on the cingula of the upper premolars characteristic of Zygorhiza. The premolars of Chrysocetus have smoother enamel than other dorudontines and are more gracile than those of Dorudon.