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Perucetus is an extinct genus of an early whale from Peru that lived during the Bartonian age of the middle Eocene. Perucetus is the largest Eocene whale, with length estimates varying from 15–16 meters (49–52 ft) to 17–20 meters (56–66 ft).
It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site [2] in July 2005 [3] for its hundreds of fossils of some of the earliest forms of whale, the archaeoceti (a now extinct sub-order of whales). The site reveals evidence for the explanation of one of the greatest mysteries of the evolution of whales : the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going ...
Cetacean bones of the same period were also found in the area, reflecting the importance of whales in the diet of prehistoric coastal people. Whale bones recovered near the Strait of Gibraltar raise the possibility that whales were hunted in the Mediterranean Sea by ancient Rome. [5] [6]
Genera from the Oligocene and Miocene had teeth in their upper jaws. These anatomical differences suggest that these ancient species may not have necessarily been deep-sea squid hunters like the modern sperm whale, but that some genera mainly ate fish. [27] [58] Contrary to modern sperm whales, most ancient sperm whales were built to hunt whales.
Basilosaurus (meaning "king lizard") is a genus of large, predatory, prehistoric archaeocete whale from the late Eocene, approximately 41.3 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). ). First described in 1834, it was the first archaeocete and prehistoric whale known to scienc
The whale's remains suggest it's a smaller relative of Basilosaurus cetoides, which lived along Alabama's coast 34-40 million years ago.
The cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are descendants of land-living mammals, the even-toed ungulates. The earliest cetaceans were still hoofed mammals. These early cetaceans became gradually better adapted for swimming than for walking on land, finally evolving into fully marine cetaceans.
The pygmy right whale shares several characteristics with the right whales, with the exception of having a dorsal fin. Also, pygmy right whales' heads are no more than one quarter the size of their bodies, whereas the right whales' heads are about one-third the size of their bodies. [11] The pygmy right whale is the only extant member of its ...