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Notes on fossil whales from the Upper Eocene of Barton, Hampshire
Notes on Fossil Whales from the Upper Eocene of Barton, Hampshire by L. BEVERLY HALSTEAD and JENNIFER MIDDLETON Received 18 March 1971; taken as read 3 March 1972 CONTENTS
t. 2.
page 185
INTRODUCTION PALAEONTOLOGY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS REFERENCES
186 190 190
ABSTRACT: Three vertebrae discovered in the Barton Clay of Hampshire are described and assigned to two archaeocete whales: the short-bodied dolphin-like Zygorhiza and the large serpentine Basilosaurus. This is the first record of the latter genus outside North America.
1. INTRODUCTION whales are known from the Lower Eocene of Kent, England (Tarlo, 1964), the Middle Eocene of Texas,Egypt and Nigeria, and the Upper Eocene of Egypt, British Columbia, the south-eastern United States and Hampshire, England (Kellogg, 1936). The first discovery of Eocene whales in England was made by Dr. A. Wanklyn in 1872 in the Barton Clay of Barton Cliff, Hampshire. This find consisted of 'the whole of a skull of a zeuglodont of moderate size. The skull was extracted entire; but the local collectors, in carrying it up the cliff, had the misfortune to reduce it to fragments!' (Seeley, 1876). Professor H. G. Seeley made some notes on this specimen but after Dr. Wanklyn's death he was 'unable to get any tidings concerning it'. In view of the importance of this find Seeley published his notes in 1876, naming the specimen Zeuglodon Wanklyni after Dr. Wanklyn; Kellogg (1936) has assigned the species to the genus Zygorhiza. In 1881 Professor J. W. Judd discovered a cetacean caudal vertebra from the Brockenhurst Beds at Royden in The Forest, Hampshire. Seeley (1881) named this specimen Balaenoptera Judd; after Professor Judd; Kellogg (1936) tentatively assigned it to Zygorhiza. The next find was made in 1907 by Mr. H. Eliot-Walton in the Barton Clay of Barton and consisted of a single cervical vertebra which Dr. C. w. Andrews (1907) described and assigned to Seeley's original species (i.e. Z. wanklyni).
ARCHAEOCETE
185 PROC. GEOL. ASS., VOL. 83, PART 2, 1972
13
186 L. BEVERLY HALSTEAD & JENNIFER MIDDLETON
In 1923 Mr. R. Egerton-Godwin discovered in the Barton Beds of Barton a dorsal vertebra and isolated vertebral epiphysis, which he presented to the British Museum (Natural History). This specimen is described in this paper (Fig. 1). During the summer of 1951 Mr. N. C. Beatson and his daughter Susan collected two fragments of a scapula from the London Clay of the Isle of Sheppey which was later described and named Anglocetus beatsoni by Tarlo (1964). Recently two further finds have been made in the Barton Clay of Barton. In 1966, Mr. K. B. Hobby found a dorsal vertebra of a very large archaeocete which seemed to belong to the genus Basilosaurus, hitherto only known from North America. The occurrence of this genus was confirmed the following year by Mrs. E. R. Blackwell's discovery of a caudal vertebra with its characteristic elongation. These last two vertebrae also are described in this note (Figs. 2 and 3). The finds of Mr. Hobby and Mrs. Blackwell, which have been presented to the British Museum (Natural History), are important in that they establish for the first time that the genus Basilosaurus was not confined to North America. The two major types of archaeocete, the small shortbodied Zygorhiza and the giant serpentine Basilosaurus, were clearly present in the Atlantic during Upper Eocene times, and their remains preserved along both the eastern and western coasts. These recent discoveries owe much to the enthusiastic work of a band of amateur geologists in the Hampshire area, especially Mrs. P. Jennings and Mr. F. C. Stinton, who were with Mr. Hobby when he made the new discovery.
2. PALAEONTOLOGY Order CETACEA Suborder ARCHAEOCETI Family DORUDONTIDAE Genus ZYGORHIZA True, 1908 Zygorhiza wanklyni (Seeley) 1876 Zeuglodon Wanklyni Seeley, 428-32. 1907 Zeuglodon Wanklyni Seeley, Andrews, 124-7, fig. 1. 1936 Zygorhiza wanklyni (Seeley), Kellogg, 174-5.
Description. The centrum found in the Barton Beds at Barton and presented to the British Museum (Natural History) (M. 12346) by Mr. R. Egerton-Godwin in 1923 can be identified as belonging to Zygorhiza (Fig. 1). The diagnosis of this genus is given by Kellogg (1936, 1()()-.l). The vertebra is assigned to Z. wanklyni merely by tradition! From an examination of the complete material of the type species Zygorhiza kochii, it is
FOSSIL WHALES FROM THE UPPER EOCENE
o
b
c
d
o ,....
187
~1 5 c m
Fig. I. Zygorhiza Wanklyni (Seeley). Dorsal vertebral centrum. M. 12346 (Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist.). a, lateral, b, anterior, c, ventral and d, dorsal views. x -!-.
clear that this centrum belongs to the dorsal series anterior to the 8th. The large anterior demifacet for the capitulum of the rib together with the lateral ridge suggests that it may be the 6th or 7th vertebra. The anterior and posterior surfaces of the centrum have a radial rugose sculpture showing that the epiphyses were not fused to the diapophysis. From the size of this centrum, length 4·4 em., width 7·0 em., height 4·6 em., and its comparison with the appropriate part of the vertebral column of associated skeletons of Zygorhiza described in Kellogg (1936), the length of the Barton animal can be estimated as being some 4 m. Family BASILOSAURIDAE Genus BASILOSAURUS Harlan, 1834 Basilosaurus sp, indet, Description. Mr. Hobby's specimen (M. 26552) (Fig. 2) was collected from Bed E of the Middle Barton Beds, Upper Eocene, to the east of Chewton Bunny, at Highcliffe. From the large size, length 12 em., width 15 em., height 11 em., and comparison with described material of Basilosaurus cetoides, it is evident that this specimen is the centrum of a dorsal vertebra belonging to the first six of the dorsal series. The specimen can be assigned to Basilosaurus (see Kellogg, 1936, 14-15, for diagnosis). The large anterior demifacet for the capitulum of the rib viewed from the right is
IS!! L. BEVERLY HALSTEAD & JENNIFER MIDDLETON
shown in Fig. 2, c. The anterior view shows the characteristic fluting rugosity associated with the former presence of a cartilaginous pad separating the main body of the centrum from its epiphyses. The proportions of the dorsal vertebrae of Basilosaurus given by Kellogg (1936, 46) suggest that Mr. Hobby's specimen is either the first or second dorsal vertebra. By comparison with the American material, the actual size of the English vertebra indicates an individual with a total length of some 21 m.
c 01
15 cm
Fig. 2. Basilosaurus sp, Dorsal vertebral centrum. M. 26552 (Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist.). a, dorsal, b, anterior and c, lateral views, x t.
FOSSIL WHALES FROM THE UPPER EOCENE
189
Mrs. Blackwell found a vertebral centrum (M. 26553) (Fig. 3) at the foot of the cliff to the east of Naish Farm and to the west of Barton. It was derived from either Bed D or the Earthy Bed (E), again from the Middle Barton Beds. This specimen is extremely abraded-so much so that only a few patches of the original surface have survived (Fig. 3). Nonetheless the general proportions can be clearly made out, length 12 em., width 8·6 em., height 7·2 em. This specimen can be confidently identified as the 14th caudal vertebral centrum of Basilosaurus. The proportional length excludes the specimen from the 13th and 15th (Kellogg, 1936, 59). This specimen belongs to an individual considerably smaller than the Basi/asaurus described by Kellogg (1936).
0 >---
-
-
-
-
-
""'1Scm
0 ---~5cm
Fig. 3. Basilosaurus sp, Caudal vertebral centrum. M. 26553 (Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist.). a ventral view, x t; b, lateral and c, anterior views, x t.
The importance of the discovery of these last two vertebrae is that they establish the existence of the giant serpentine Basilosaurus in the Old World for the first time. Previously it had only been recorded in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Its familiarity among the fossil whales is due to it being exhibited throughout Europe during the last century by American showmen (see Kellogg, 1936, 18).
190 L. BEVERLY HALSTEAD & JENNIFER MIDDLETON
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Our thanks are due to Mr. K. B. Hobby and Mrs. E. R. Blackwell for kindly allowing us to describe the specimens which form the main subject of this note. We are also grateful for the kind help of Mr. J. Hooker of the British Museum (Natural History).
REFERENCES ANDREWS, C. W. 1907. Note on the Cervical Vertebra of a Zeuglodon from the Barton Clay of Barton Cliff (Hampshire). Q. JI geol, Soc., 63, 124-7, 1 fig. KELLOGG, R. 1936. A Review of the Archaeoceti. Pubis Carnegie Instn, No. 482, i-xv, 1-366, 88 figs., 37 pis. SEELEY, H. G. 1876. Notice of the Occurrence of Remains of a British Fossil Zeuglodon (Z. Wanklyni Seeley) in the Barton Clay of the Hampshire Coast. Q. JI geol, Soc., 32, 428-32. ---.1881. Note on the Caudal Vertebra of a Cetacean Discovered by Prof. Judd in the Brockenhurst Beds, Indicative of a New Type Allied to Balaenostera Balaeonoptera Juddi). Q. JI geol, Soc., 37, 709-12, 3 figs. TARLO, L. B. H. 1964. A primitive whale from the London Clay of the Isle ofSheppey, Proc. Geol, Ass., 74,219-323,2 figs.
L. B. Halstead Department of Geology University of Reading Reading
Jennifer Middleton Medical Unit Royal Free Hospital London, W.e.l
t. 2.
page 185
INTRODUCTION PALAEONTOLOGY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS REFERENCES
186 190 190
ABSTRACT: Three vertebrae discovered in the Barton Clay of Hampshire are described and assigned to two archaeocete whales: the short-bodied dolphin-like Zygorhiza and the large serpentine Basilosaurus. This is the first record of the latter genus outside North America.
1. INTRODUCTION whales are known from the Lower Eocene of Kent, England (Tarlo, 1964), the Middle Eocene of Texas,Egypt and Nigeria, and the Upper Eocene of Egypt, British Columbia, the south-eastern United States and Hampshire, England (Kellogg, 1936). The first discovery of Eocene whales in England was made by Dr. A. Wanklyn in 1872 in the Barton Clay of Barton Cliff, Hampshire. This find consisted of 'the whole of a skull of a zeuglodont of moderate size. The skull was extracted entire; but the local collectors, in carrying it up the cliff, had the misfortune to reduce it to fragments!' (Seeley, 1876). Professor H. G. Seeley made some notes on this specimen but after Dr. Wanklyn's death he was 'unable to get any tidings concerning it'. In view of the importance of this find Seeley published his notes in 1876, naming the specimen Zeuglodon Wanklyni after Dr. Wanklyn; Kellogg (1936) has assigned the species to the genus Zygorhiza. In 1881 Professor J. W. Judd discovered a cetacean caudal vertebra from the Brockenhurst Beds at Royden in The Forest, Hampshire. Seeley (1881) named this specimen Balaenoptera Judd; after Professor Judd; Kellogg (1936) tentatively assigned it to Zygorhiza. The next find was made in 1907 by Mr. H. Eliot-Walton in the Barton Clay of Barton and consisted of a single cervical vertebra which Dr. C. w. Andrews (1907) described and assigned to Seeley's original species (i.e. Z. wanklyni).
ARCHAEOCETE
185 PROC. GEOL. ASS., VOL. 83, PART 2, 1972
13
186 L. BEVERLY HALSTEAD & JENNIFER MIDDLETON
In 1923 Mr. R. Egerton-Godwin discovered in the Barton Beds of Barton a dorsal vertebra and isolated vertebral epiphysis, which he presented to the British Museum (Natural History). This specimen is described in this paper (Fig. 1). During the summer of 1951 Mr. N. C. Beatson and his daughter Susan collected two fragments of a scapula from the London Clay of the Isle of Sheppey which was later described and named Anglocetus beatsoni by Tarlo (1964). Recently two further finds have been made in the Barton Clay of Barton. In 1966, Mr. K. B. Hobby found a dorsal vertebra of a very large archaeocete which seemed to belong to the genus Basilosaurus, hitherto only known from North America. The occurrence of this genus was confirmed the following year by Mrs. E. R. Blackwell's discovery of a caudal vertebra with its characteristic elongation. These last two vertebrae also are described in this note (Figs. 2 and 3). The finds of Mr. Hobby and Mrs. Blackwell, which have been presented to the British Museum (Natural History), are important in that they establish for the first time that the genus Basilosaurus was not confined to North America. The two major types of archaeocete, the small shortbodied Zygorhiza and the giant serpentine Basilosaurus, were clearly present in the Atlantic during Upper Eocene times, and their remains preserved along both the eastern and western coasts. These recent discoveries owe much to the enthusiastic work of a band of amateur geologists in the Hampshire area, especially Mrs. P. Jennings and Mr. F. C. Stinton, who were with Mr. Hobby when he made the new discovery.
2. PALAEONTOLOGY Order CETACEA Suborder ARCHAEOCETI Family DORUDONTIDAE Genus ZYGORHIZA True, 1908 Zygorhiza wanklyni (Seeley) 1876 Zeuglodon Wanklyni Seeley, 428-32. 1907 Zeuglodon Wanklyni Seeley, Andrews, 124-7, fig. 1. 1936 Zygorhiza wanklyni (Seeley), Kellogg, 174-5.
Description. The centrum found in the Barton Beds at Barton and presented to the British Museum (Natural History) (M. 12346) by Mr. R. Egerton-Godwin in 1923 can be identified as belonging to Zygorhiza (Fig. 1). The diagnosis of this genus is given by Kellogg (1936, 1()()-.l). The vertebra is assigned to Z. wanklyni merely by tradition! From an examination of the complete material of the type species Zygorhiza kochii, it is
FOSSIL WHALES FROM THE UPPER EOCENE
o
b
c
d
o ,....
187
~1 5 c m
Fig. I. Zygorhiza Wanklyni (Seeley). Dorsal vertebral centrum. M. 12346 (Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist.). a, lateral, b, anterior, c, ventral and d, dorsal views. x -!-.
clear that this centrum belongs to the dorsal series anterior to the 8th. The large anterior demifacet for the capitulum of the rib together with the lateral ridge suggests that it may be the 6th or 7th vertebra. The anterior and posterior surfaces of the centrum have a radial rugose sculpture showing that the epiphyses were not fused to the diapophysis. From the size of this centrum, length 4·4 em., width 7·0 em., height 4·6 em., and its comparison with the appropriate part of the vertebral column of associated skeletons of Zygorhiza described in Kellogg (1936), the length of the Barton animal can be estimated as being some 4 m. Family BASILOSAURIDAE Genus BASILOSAURUS Harlan, 1834 Basilosaurus sp, indet, Description. Mr. Hobby's specimen (M. 26552) (Fig. 2) was collected from Bed E of the Middle Barton Beds, Upper Eocene, to the east of Chewton Bunny, at Highcliffe. From the large size, length 12 em., width 15 em., height 11 em., and comparison with described material of Basilosaurus cetoides, it is evident that this specimen is the centrum of a dorsal vertebra belonging to the first six of the dorsal series. The specimen can be assigned to Basilosaurus (see Kellogg, 1936, 14-15, for diagnosis). The large anterior demifacet for the capitulum of the rib viewed from the right is
IS!! L. BEVERLY HALSTEAD & JENNIFER MIDDLETON
shown in Fig. 2, c. The anterior view shows the characteristic fluting rugosity associated with the former presence of a cartilaginous pad separating the main body of the centrum from its epiphyses. The proportions of the dorsal vertebrae of Basilosaurus given by Kellogg (1936, 46) suggest that Mr. Hobby's specimen is either the first or second dorsal vertebra. By comparison with the American material, the actual size of the English vertebra indicates an individual with a total length of some 21 m.
c 01
15 cm
Fig. 2. Basilosaurus sp, Dorsal vertebral centrum. M. 26552 (Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist.). a, dorsal, b, anterior and c, lateral views, x t.
FOSSIL WHALES FROM THE UPPER EOCENE
189
Mrs. Blackwell found a vertebral centrum (M. 26553) (Fig. 3) at the foot of the cliff to the east of Naish Farm and to the west of Barton. It was derived from either Bed D or the Earthy Bed (E), again from the Middle Barton Beds. This specimen is extremely abraded-so much so that only a few patches of the original surface have survived (Fig. 3). Nonetheless the general proportions can be clearly made out, length 12 em., width 8·6 em., height 7·2 em. This specimen can be confidently identified as the 14th caudal vertebral centrum of Basilosaurus. The proportional length excludes the specimen from the 13th and 15th (Kellogg, 1936, 59). This specimen belongs to an individual considerably smaller than the Basi/asaurus described by Kellogg (1936).
0 >---
-
-
-
-
-
""'1Scm
0 ---~5cm
Fig. 3. Basilosaurus sp, Caudal vertebral centrum. M. 26553 (Brit. Mus. Nat. Hist.). a ventral view, x t; b, lateral and c, anterior views, x t.
The importance of the discovery of these last two vertebrae is that they establish the existence of the giant serpentine Basilosaurus in the Old World for the first time. Previously it had only been recorded in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Its familiarity among the fossil whales is due to it being exhibited throughout Europe during the last century by American showmen (see Kellogg, 1936, 18).
190 L. BEVERLY HALSTEAD & JENNIFER MIDDLETON
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Our thanks are due to Mr. K. B. Hobby and Mrs. E. R. Blackwell for kindly allowing us to describe the specimens which form the main subject of this note. We are also grateful for the kind help of Mr. J. Hooker of the British Museum (Natural History).
REFERENCES ANDREWS, C. W. 1907. Note on the Cervical Vertebra of a Zeuglodon from the Barton Clay of Barton Cliff (Hampshire). Q. JI geol, Soc., 63, 124-7, 1 fig. KELLOGG, R. 1936. A Review of the Archaeoceti. Pubis Carnegie Instn, No. 482, i-xv, 1-366, 88 figs., 37 pis. SEELEY, H. G. 1876. Notice of the Occurrence of Remains of a British Fossil Zeuglodon (Z. Wanklyni Seeley) in the Barton Clay of the Hampshire Coast. Q. JI geol, Soc., 32, 428-32. ---.1881. Note on the Caudal Vertebra of a Cetacean Discovered by Prof. Judd in the Brockenhurst Beds, Indicative of a New Type Allied to Balaenostera Balaeonoptera Juddi). Q. JI geol, Soc., 37, 709-12, 3 figs. TARLO, L. B. H. 1964. A primitive whale from the London Clay of the Isle ofSheppey, Proc. Geol, Ass., 74,219-323,2 figs.
L. B. Halstead Department of Geology University of Reading Reading
Jennifer Middleton Medical Unit Royal Free Hospital London, W.e.l