Giant whale-eating whale discovered

[Yeo]

The massive skull and jaw of a 13-million-year-old sperm whale has been discovered eroding from the windblown sands of a coastal desert of Peru.

The extinct cousin of the modern sperm whale is the first fossil to rival modern sperm whales in size — although this is a very different beast, say whale evolution experts.

"We could see it from very far," said paleontologist Olivier Lambert of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France, who led the team which found the fossil.

The giant 3-meter (10-foot) skull of what's been dubbed Leviathan melvillei (in honor of the author of "Moby Dick") was found with teeth in its top and bottom jaws up to 36 centimeters (14 inches) long. The discovery is reported in the July 1 issue of the journal Nature.

Living sperm whales have teeth only in their lower jaws and are specialized to feed on giant squid, Lambert explained. They suck down squid like large spaghetti noodles rather than catch the prey with their teeth. The much toothier fossil sperm whales, however, may have eaten more like a outsized-orca, or killer whale: chomping great big bites out of its prey.

"These are very unusual attributes," said cetacea evolution expert Ewan Fordyce of the University of Otago in New Zealand. "It's remarkably big. That is unexpected."

Another sign that this ancient whale had a killer bite is the large hole in the skull to accommodate a large jaw muscle.

"This was a hunting predator that took chunks out of prey," said Fordyce.

It most likely fed on baleen whales, Lambert and his colleagues report, and lived in the same waters as the monster-sized shark called Carcharocles megalodon.

To learn more about its eating habits, Fordyce said it would be useful to look at the microscopic wear patterns on the teeth. If the wear lines are horizontal, it probably sucked in prey like today's whales. But if the wear lines are vertical, it would suggest a biter, like the orca.

"Many fossil sperm whales have been found in the past," said Lambert. "Most have been much smaller than modern sperm whales."

There have also been discoveries of isolated large sperm whale teeth fossils before, said Lambert. Those made it clear to researchers there was a bigger animal out there waiting to be found. And now they have found it.

"I think it's a great advance," said Fordyce of the discovery.

The fossil appears to also be a distant relative of today's sperm whales, said Fordyce, rather than a direct ancestor.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38021150/ns ... e-science/

[ruffneck_12]

sperm

[VexXx Dogg]

good gawd, that must have been monstrous.
is ah ten foot SKULL dey say yunno

[RoTaRyBoYz]

Suddenly that Jonah story is sounding more believable..

[MG Man]

[crazybalhead]

sperm

If you think that's funny, google why they are called sperm whales. The truth is stranger than fiction.

[- Rovin's car audio -]

good thing for us that it went extinct ...

[MG Man]

cranial fluid

[De Bench]

had this creature been discovered alive the Japanese would have surely send down a team of "research" vessels similar to the "Shonan Maru".

Speaking of which, a friend of mine here in TnT has signed up to join the next Sea Shepard Campaign.

Good luck bro !

[foss]

wow.. thats amazing!

love these sort of finds.. Yeo, great post!!

Mg...

tool!

[MG Man]

the dolphin said it was a moooooooooooving experience

[shogun]

Between those and prehistoric crocs,the seas/waters were probably the most treacherous places...just water with teeth.

[Greypatch]

damm amazing to know that animals grew to such large sizes back in the day eh

[devrat]

The massive skull and jaw of a 13-million-year-old sperm whale has been discovered eroding from the windblown sands of a coastal desert of Peru.

good gawd, that must have been monstrous.
is ah ten foot SKULL dey say yunno

But they could not have been very smart....I mean it was trying to swim in a desert for heaven sake

[RoTaRyBoYz]

damm amazing to know that animals grew to such large sizes back in the day eh

Tell me about it... Remember that huge arsehole that ran the country for many years till finally getting voted out a few weeks ago. I bet that fella was extremely old

[shogun]

The massive skull and jaw of a 13-million-year-old sperm whale has been discovered eroding from the windblown sands of a coastal desert of Peru.

good gawd, that must have been monstrous.
is ah ten foot SKULL dey say yunno

But they could not have been very smart....I mean it was trying to swim in a desert for heaven sake

Ent?

[wagonrunner]

arite, arite.
allyuh coulda admit you thought it was a feuner thread too, instead of lighting up the msn.


great article though.

[ChristianRD]

I love sperm

good thing for us that it went extinct ...

We iz not whalez.

[Rahtid]

The massive skull and jaw of a 13-million-year-old sperm whale has been discovered eroding from the windblown sands of a coastal desert of Peru.

good gawd, that must have been monstrous.
is ah ten foot SKULL dey say yunno

But they could not have been very smart....I mean it was trying to swim in a desert for heaven sake

Ent?

they did say coastal inno,

[wagonrunner]

they did say coastal inno,

what the speculation that it used to swim @ idle speed hadda do with anything?

[legoRB]

Cool post...

[Rahtid]

they did say coastal inno,

what the speculation that it used to swim @ idle speed hadda do with anything?

they never said they found the idle unit

[wagonrunner]

plenty mods geh pm over this

press up

[*Nebula*]

It's a good thing it extinct; so it can give the other whales a fighting chance...

[xtech]

i always knew ice could not possibly have sank the Titanic

[~Vēġó~]

very intruiging!!!