Basilosauridae (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Sahara Desert of Southwestern Morocco

The Sahara Desert in southwestern Morocco is today an important paleontological region for its richness of archaeocete whale remains from the middle and late Eocene. Remains of Basilosauridae have been reported from Gueran and El Breij of the Bartonian age and Ad-Dakhla of the Priabonian age. There are no complete skeletons, meaning it is rarely possible to associate the skull and the post-cranial bones directly. However, analysis of the size and shape of the recovered sequential vertebrae enables distinction and comparison of the species of basilosaurids. Lumbar vertebrae best distinguish the different species of Basilosauridae, and eight different species are present in the three localities combined. Reexamination of the characteristics of the vertebrae of the different species of basilosaurids allows a better expansion of knowledge concerning their taxonomy, stratigraphic distribution, and paleogeography.