Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Livyatan is an extinct genus of macroraptorial sperm whale containing one known species: L. melvillei.The genus name was inspired by the biblical sea monster Leviathan, and the species name by Herman Melville, the author of the famous novel Moby-Dick about a white bull sperm whale.
Macroraptorial sperm whales occupied the same niche as killer whales (Orcinus orca). Using their large and deeply rooted teeth, wide-opening jaws, and great size, they likely fed on a variety of sea life, including fish, cephalopods, seals, and small whales and dolphins, occupying a niche similar to the modern day killer whale (Orcinus orca).
Some balaenopterids perhaps rivaled the blue whale in terms of size, [114] though other studies disagree that any baleen whale grew that large in the Miocene. [115] The true largest macroraptorial sperm whale is none other than the Livyatan, with an estimated length of 44–57 ft (13.5–17.5 m) and an estimated weight of 62.8 short tons (57 ...
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.
A high school student made an incredible discovery in her own backyard: A 34-million-year-old whale skull. Sixteen-year-old Lindsey Stallworth and her biology teacher, Andrew Gentry, found small ...
For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ways to reach us
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 ...
About 280 million years ago, a large creature built somewhat like a salamander but with frightful fangs prowled the swamps and lakes of what is now Namibia, ambushing prey as a top predator in a ...