Cetotheriidae (Cetacea: Mysticeti) from the Collections of the National Geological Museum, Bucharest (Romania)

Abstract

Cetacean fossil remains attributed to Cetotheriidae are certainly not a novelty in the fossil record of the Carpathian Foreland or Foredeep, several sites being mentioned; however there remains much material in institutional collections that can still add to the number of fossiliferous localities where cetotheriids can be found. The aim of this paper is to bring to attention new material from fossiliferous localities from the western Dacian Basin (Gorj and Vâlcea Counties), from the collections of the National Geological Museum. The specimens are described, identified based on comparisons with similar specimens from published literature and a discussion about the species Cetotherium priscum is provided.