Raoellidae
Encyclopedia
Previously grouped with Helohyidae, Raoellidae is now a family in the Suborder Cetancodonta. It is found in Eocene
of South and Southeast Asia.
A December 2007 article in Nature by Thewissen et al. used an exceptionally complete skeleton of Indohyus from Kashmir
indicates that raoellids are the "missing link
" sister group to whales (Cetacea
). All other Artiodactyla are "cousins" of these two groups. δO18 values and osteosclerotic bones indicate that the racoon
-like Indohyus was habitutually aquatic, but δC13 values suggest that it rarely fed in the water. The authors suggest this documents an intermediate step in the transition back to water completed by the whales.
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
of South and Southeast Asia.
A December 2007 article in Nature by Thewissen et al. used an exceptionally complete skeleton of Indohyus from Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
indicates that raoellids are the "missing link
Missing Link
Missing link is a nonscientific term for any transitional fossil, especially one connected with human evolution; see Transitional fossil - Missing links and List of transitonal fossils - Human evolution.Missing Link may refer to:...
" sister group to whales (Cetacea
Cetacea
The order Cetacea includes the marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Cetus is Latin and is used in biological names to mean "whale"; its original meaning, "large sea animal", was more general. It comes from Ancient Greek , meaning "whale" or "any huge fish or sea...
). All other Artiodactyla are "cousins" of these two groups. δO18 values and osteosclerotic bones indicate that the racoon
Racoon
Racoon is a Dutch rock band, formed in 1997. Their first big appearance was at the 1999 Noorderslagfestival. First album Till Monkeys Fly appeared in January 2000, produced by Michael Schoots . The first single, Feel Like Flying, became a hit and got a lot of airplay on the Dutch radiostation 3FM...
-like Indohyus was habitutually aquatic, but δC13 values suggest that it rarely fed in the water. The authors suggest this documents an intermediate step in the transition back to water completed by the whales.
Taxonomy
- Raoella
- Raoella dograi
- Haqueina
- Haqueina haquei
- IndohyusIndohyusIndohyus is a genus of extinct artiodactyl known from Eocene fossils in Asia, purported to be approximately 48 million years old. A December 2007 article in Nature by Thewissen et al. used an exceptionally complete skeleton of Indohyus from Kashmir to indicate that raoellids may be the "missing...
- Indohyus indirae
- Indohyus major
- Kunmunella
- Kunmunella kalakotensis
- Kunmunella transversa
- Metkatius
- Metkatius kashmiriensis
- Khirtharia
- Khirtharia aurea
- Khirtharia dayi
- Khirtharia inflatus