Phiomicetus

Phiomicetus is a genus of protocetid whale that lived between 43 and 42 million years ago during the Lutetian (middle Eocene) period in what is now Egypt.

[1][2] Phiomicetus was unearthed in 2008 at Al Amaim, which lies on the southern margin of Wadi Al-Ruwayan in the Fayum Depression, in the Western Desert of Egypt.

The holotype specimen, MUVP500, is the partial skeleton of a single individual that includes the cranium, right mandible, an incomplete left mandible, several teeth, fifth cervical vertebra, sixth thoracic vertebra, sixth left rib, and an isolated right rib.

[2] The generic name Phiomicetus is derived from the Fayum Depression, the type locality where it was discovered, and the Latin term cetus meaning "whale".

Features of the skull and mandible suggest that Phiomicetus had large temporal muscles in the jaw; combined with tooth wear patterns, this suggests a "strong raptorial feeding style"[3] with large fish, turtles, and potentially other whales as prey, akin to modern-day seal-eating killer whales.