Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 science. [2] Fossils attributed to the type species B. cetoides were discovered in the ...
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 ...
Archaeoceti ("ancient whales"), or Zeuglodontes in older literature, is a paraphyletic group of primitive cetaceans that lived from the Early Eocene to the late Oligocene 1] Representing the earliest cetacean radiation , they include the initial amphibious stages in cetacean evolution , thus are the ancestors of both modern cetacean suborders ...
They calculated that the ancient giant weighed somewhere between 94 and 375 tons (85 and 340 metric tons). The biggest blue whales found have been within that range — at around 200 tons (180 ...
Perucetus is the largest Eocene whale measuring about 17–20 meters (56–66 ft) long. Some researchers claim that it may have rivaled or exceeded the modern blue whale in weight, partly due to the incredibly thick and dense bones this animal possessed, coupled with its already great size, while others argue that it was much lighter. [2]
Zygorhiza ("Yoke-Root") is an extinct genus of basilosaurid early whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian, 38–34 Ma) of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, United States, and the Bartonian (43–37 Ma on the New Zealand geologic time scale) to the late Eocene of New Zealand (1]
Livyatan is the largest fossil sperm whale discovered, and was also one of the biggest-known predators, having the largest bite of any tetrapod. [1] [8] Diagram comparing the upper and lower size estimates of Livyatan (bottom three) with the size of mature sperm whales, including one of the largest individuals recorded (top three), and a human
Baleen whales range in size from the 6 m (20 ft) and 3,000 kg (6,600 lb) pygmy right whale to the 31 m (102 ft) and 190 t (210 short tons) blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed. [1] [2] They are sexually dimorphic.