Zygorhiza

Zygorhiza; Fossil range: Late Eocene
	;
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia;
Phylum:	Chordata;
Class:	Mammalia;
Order:	Cetacea;
Suborder:	Archaeoceti;
Family:	Basilosauridae;
Genus:	Zygorhiza; True, 1908
Species:	Z. kochii;
Binomial name
	Zygorhiza kochii; Kellogg, 1936

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Zygorhiza kochii ("Koch's Yoke-Root") is an extinct species of cetacean.

Zygorhiza kochii skull

Zygorhiza kochii skeleton, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Zygorhiza was a smaller, less elongated, 6 m (20 foot) long relative of the famous Basilosaurus. Its bodily proportions were similar to those of modern whales, although, unlike modern species, it had a distinct neck, and flippers which could be moved at the elbow. Its hind limbs were rudimentary. Zygorhiza's one-metre (3-foot) skull had fearsome jaws with deadly teeth. Unlike modern cetaceans, it had a neck with seven vertebrae.^[1]

[edit] State Symbol

Zygorhiza kochii is the state fossil of Mississippi. The mounted specimen in the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson is commonly referred to as "Ziggy".

[edit] References

^ Palmer, D., ed (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 231. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.