Cranial anatomy of middle EoceneRemingtonocetus(Cetacea, Mammalia) from Kutch, India

Abstract

The family Remingtonocetidae is a basal family of Eocene cetaceans only known from near shore marine environments of India and Pakistan. We describe a new skull forRemingtonocetus harudiensiswhich elucidates the anatomy and functional morphology of the head and provides new details on cranial cavity and nasopharyngeal region. We suggest thatRemingtonocetuswas an ambush predator that hunted from a perch on the ocean floor, and that hearing was its most important sense. We speculate that the greatly elongated rostrum is an adaptation for water retention because these are some of the earliest whales living in seawater.