Lutetian life

Ambulocetus (from Latin ambulō, meaning "to walk", and cetus, meaning "whale", and thus, "walking whale") is a genus of early semiaquatic cetacean from the Kuldana Formation in Pakistan, roughly 48 or 47 million years ago during the Early Eocene (Lutetian). It contains one species, Ambulocetus natans (Latin natans "swimming"), known solely from one near-complete skeleton. Ambulocetus is among the best-studied of Eocene cetaceans, and serves as an instrumental find in the study of cetacean evolution and their transition from land to sea, as it was the first cetacean discovered to preserve a sui

Notharctus is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in North America and Europe during the early to middle Eocene. left|thumb|N. tenebrosus (left) compared to Plesiadapis|Plesiadapis cookei (right), a plesiadapiform. Both come from [[Eocene Wyoming, though the latter is slightly geologically older (Museum of Natural Sciences, Brussels).]] The body form of Notharctus is similar to that of modern rats. Its fingers were elongated for clamping onto branches, including the development of a thumb. Its spine is flexible and the animal was about in length, excluding the long tail.

Ginglymostoma (from the Ancient Greek words γίγγλυμος (gínglumos), meaning "hinge", and στόμα (stóma), meaning "mouth") is a genus of shark in the family Ginglymostomatidae. There are two members in the genus. Members of this genus eat small fish and crustaceans, and are commonly quite lethargic unless provoked. Members of this genus have the ability to suck in water in order to remove snails from their shells in a manner that can be described as 'vacuum-like'.

Peregocetus is a genus of early whale that lived in what is now Peru during the Middle Eocene epoch. Its fossil was uncovered in 2011 in the Yumaque Member (Paracas Formation) of the Pisco Basin at Playa Media Luna by a team consisting of members from Belgium, Peru, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. Parts recovered include the jaw, front and hind legs, bits of spine, and tail. Olivier Lambert, a scientist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and lead author of the study, noted that Peregocetus "fills in a crucial [knowledge] gap" about the evolution of whales and their spread.

Niolamia is an extinct genus of South American meiolaniid turtle with a long and complex history. Like its relatives, Niolamia was a robust and heavily armored terrestrial turtle with large, horn like scales covering its head and a tail encased by rings of bone. This heavily armored build may have served the animal during intraspecific combat during courtship, though such encounters likely did not involve the horns and frill, which are thought to serve more of a display function. Scans of the skull reveal that Niolamia likely had a great sense of smell but only low frequency hearing, indicatin

Diacodexis is an extinct genus of small herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Diacodexeidae that lived in North America and Europe from 55.4 mya to 46.2 mya, existing for approximately .

Archimyrmex is an extinct genus of ant in the formicid subfamily Myrmeciinae, described by palaeoentomologist Theodore Cockerell in 1923. The genus contains four described species, Archimyrmex rostratus, Archimyrmex piatnitzkyi, Archimyrmex smekali and Archimyrmex wedmannae. Archimyrmex is known from a group of Middle Eocene fossils which were found in North America, South America, and Europe. The genus was initially placed in the subfamily Ponerinae, but it was later placed in Myrmeciinae; it is now believed to be the ancestor of the extant primitive genus Myrmecia from Australia. Despite thi

Smilodectes is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in North America during the middle Eocene. It possesses a post-orbital bar and grasping thumbs and toes. Smilodectes has a small cranium size and the foramen magnum was located at the back of the skull, on the occipital bone.