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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]
[27] [58] Contrary to modern sperm whales, most ancient sperm whales were built to hunt whales. Livyatan had a short and wide rostrum measuring 10 feet (3.0 m) across, which gave the whale the ability to inflict major damage on large struggling prey, such as other early 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 next diverging family of whales, the Ambulocetidae, were large, already fully aquatic, [8] and crocodile-like with large feet and a strong tail. Sediments indicate that they lived in coastal areas and their compact bones suggest that they were ambush rather than fast-pursuit predators.
[394] [395] These remains were later named Ichthyotitan and it has been estimated to reach up to 25 m (82 ft), which makes it the largest ichthyosaur and the largest marine reptile ever. [396] Another large ichthyosaur was the Late Triassic Shastasaurus sikanniensis at 21 m (69 ft) in length [397] [398] and 81.5 t (180,000 lb) in weight. [399]
The whale's remains suggest it's a smaller relative of Basilosaurus cetoides, which lived along Alabama's coast 34-40 million years ago.
Protocetus atavus ("first whale") is an extinct species of primitive cetacean from Egypt.It lived during the middle Eocene period 45 million years ago. The first discovered protocetid, Protocetus atavus was described by Fraas 1904 based on a cranium and a number of associated vertebrae and ribs found in middle Lutetian Tethyan marine limestone from Gebel Mokattam near Cairo, Egypt.
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 ...