| Basilosaurus | |
|---|---|
 Basilosaurus reconstruction | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Scientific Name | Basilosaurus cetiodes |
| Length | 15 metres |
| Height | 2 metres |
| Weight | 7 tonnes |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Lived | 40-35 million years ago |
| Range | Southern USA and Egypt |
Basilosaurus was a prehistoric whale from the Late Eocene, about 40 to 35 million years ago.
Description[]
Basilosaurus was extremely long for a whale, because of its elongated verterbrae. It has been described as the closest a whale came to a snake. Basilosaurus was 18-21 metres long, and its back limbs, being 0.6 metres long, were of no use in locomotion.[1]
Its large, conical teeth were probably used for eating smaller whales, sea cows, and turtles. A skeleton recovered in Egypt contained fishbones and the remains of a small shark.
In popular culture[]
Basilosaurus has appeared in Walking with Beasts, and the Walking with Dinosaurs special Sea Monsters.
References[]
- ↑ Bejder, Lars and Hall, Brian K. Limbs in whales and limblessness in other vertebrates: mechanisms of evolutionary and developmental transformation and loss. Evolution and Development, 2002.