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Morphology and Function of the Vertebral Column in Remingtonocetus domandaensis (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Middle Eocene Domanda Formation of Pakistan

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Abstract

The archaeocete family Remingtonocetidae is a group of early cetaceans known from the Eocene of India and Pakistan. Previous studies of remingtonocetids focused primarily on cranial anatomy due to a paucity of well-preserved postcranial material. Here we describe the morphology of the known vertebral column in Remingtonocetus domandaensis based largely on a single well-preserved partial skeleton recovered from the upper Domanda Formation of Pakistan. The specimen preserves most of the precaudal vertebral column in articulation and includes seven complete cervical vertebrae, ten partial to complete thoracic vertebrae, six complete lumbar vertebrae, and the first three sacral vertebrae. Cervical centra are long and possess robust, imbricating transverse processes that stabilized the head and neck. Lumbar vertebrae allowed for limited flexibility and probably served primarily to stabilize the lumbar column during forceful retraction of the hind limbs. Vertebral evidence, taken together with pelvic and femoral morphology, is most consistent with interpretation of Remingtonocetus domandaensis as an animal that swam primarily by powerful movement of its hind limbs rather than dorsoventral undulation of its body axis.

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Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this manuscript was included in the doctoral dissertation of RMB (Bebej 2011). It was initially reviewed by PDG, Daniel C. Fisher, Philip Myers, and Paul W. Webb and has subsequently been reviewed by William J. Sanders and two anonymous reviewers. We thank Imran Khan, M. Akram Bhatti, Mirza Talib Hasan, and Arshad M. Bhutta (Geological Survey of Pakistan) for encouragement and logistical support in the field. We thank Aaron R. Wood for discussion of vertebral form and function and William J. Sanders for his insights into vertebral biomechanics and his skilled preparation of GSP-UM 3552 and the other specimens studied here. Bonnie Miljour aided in preparation of the figures and illustrated the composite reconstruction of R. domandaensis seen in Fig. 1. Adam N. Rountrey, Daniel C. Fisher, Brett Lyons, and Eric Maslowksi provided support in generating the 3D scans of the cervical vertebrae of GSP-UM 3552 (Fig. 12). Access to skeletal material of modern cetaceans was provided by Linda K. Gordon and Charles W. Potter at the National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC). This research was supported by the Geological Survey of Pakistan, National Geographic Society (5537-95) and United States National Science Foundation (EAR 9714923, 0517773, 0920972) grants to PDG, and University of Michigan Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Zoology grants to RMB.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, IL, 60914-2345, USA

    Ryan M. Bebej

  2. Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan

    Munir ul-Haq

  3. Department of Geological Sciences and Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1079, USA

    Iyad S. Zalmout & Philip D. Gingerich

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Bebej, R.M., ul-Haq, M., Zalmout, I.S. et al. Morphology and Function of the Vertebral Column in Remingtonocetus domandaensis (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Middle Eocene Domanda Formation of Pakistan. J Mammal Evol 19, 77–104 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-011-9184-8

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