Salwasiren
Extinct genus of sirenian
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Salwasiren is an extinct genus of dugongid sirenian mammal from the Early Miocene of the Dam Formation (Lower Al-Kharrara Member) of southwestern Qatar. The genus contains a single species, Salwasiren qatarensis.[1] The generic name, Salwasiren, is a reference to the Gulf of Salwah, while the specific name, qatarensis refers to Qatar, the country in which it was found.[2]
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| Salwasiren Temporal range: Early Miocene (Aquitanian), | |
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| Holotype of Salwasiren | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Placentalia |
| Order: | Sirenia |
| Family: | Dugongidae |
| Subfamily: | Dugonginae |
| Genus: | †Salwasiren Pyenson et al., 2025 |
| Species: | †S. qatarensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Salwasiren qatarensis Pyenson et al., 2025 | |
Discovery and naming
The fossils of Salwasiren were discovered in 2023–2024 when Pyenson and colleagues were prospecting fossil-bearing outcrops of the Dam Formation in southwestern Qatar. In 2025, Pyenson et al. named Salwasiren qatarensis as a new genus and species based on the discovered material.[1]
The holotype of S. qatarensis consists of fossilised remains of an incomplete cranium, a mandible, a maxillary second molar, a sternum, two scapulae, two humeri, an ilium, and a partial vertebral column.[1] An incomplete left incisor was also referred to this species.[1]
Classification
The cladogram below illustrates the results of the phylogenetic analysis done by Pyenson et al. (2025).[1]
| Sirenia |
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Palaeoenvironment
Salwasiren likely lived alongside multiple indeterminate odontocete cetaceans, turtles, teleosts and carcharhiniform sharks.[1]
