Salwasiren
Salwasiren is an extinct genus of dugongid sirenian mammal from the Early Miocene of the Dam Formation of southwestern Qatar. The genus contains a single species, Salwasiren qatarensis. 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.
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.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. An incomplete left incisor was also referred to this species.