5.8" Fossil Primitive Whale (Pappocetus) Incisor Tooth - Morocco

Fossil Primitive Whale (Pappocetus) Incisor Tooth - Morocco #215118

This is an incredible, 5.8" long tooth (incisor) from Pappocetus lugardi, a type of protocetid cetacean (early whale ancestor). These rare teeth come from the Middle Eocene-age Aridal Formation, located in the Western Sahara near Gueran, Morocco.

There are repaired cracks with spots of gap fill restoration through the crown of this tooth where it was found fractured within the ground. One edge of this root has undergone glue stabilization where the bone was fragmented.

Pappocetus is a genus of extinct protocetid cetacean. Protocetids are considered to be one of the earliest examples of whale development during the time they were transitioning from land to sea. Fossil records indicate that they are Middle Eocene in age, existing after Pakicetus (earliest known whale) and prior to Zygorhiza (basilosaurid). These protocetids had become much more whale-like in appearance, featuring a more streamlined body with paddle-like forelegs, and hind-limbs that were greatly reduced in size. Their robust teeth and root structures suggest that they were aquatic carnivores, relying on smell and vision as their most important senses for hunting prey. It's unlikely that by this point they had developed echolocation systems used by modern whales.

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