Prehistoric cetacean genus from the Late Eocene epoch
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
United States
. They were originally thought to be of a giant reptile, hence the suffix "-saurus",
Ancient Greek
for "lizard". The animal was later found to be an early
marine mammal
, prompting attempts at renaming the creature, which failed as the
rules of zoological nomenclature
dictate using the original name given. Fossils were later found of the second species,
B. isis
, in 1904 in
Egypt
,
Western Sahara
,
Morocco
,
Jordan
,
Tunisia
, and
Pakistan
.
[3]
Fossils have also been unearthed in the
southeastern United States
and
Peru
.
[4]
[5]
[6]
Basilosaurus
is thought to have been common in the
Tethys Ocean
.
[7]
[8]
It was one of the largest animals of the
Paleogene
. It was the top predator of its environment, preying on sharks, large fish and other marine mammals, namely the dolphin-like
Dorudon
, which seems to have been their predominant food source. Based on the localities where its fossils are discovered,
Basilosaurus
would have preferred to live in the shallows, specifically in the middle to outer
neritic zones
of the
inland sea
.
[4]
Basilosaurus
was at one point a
wastebasket taxon
before the genus slowly started getting reevaluated, with many species of different Eocene cetacean being assigned to the genus in the past. However, most are invalid or have been reclassified under a new or different genus, leaving only 2 confirmed species.
Basilosaurus
may have been one of the first fully aquatic cetaceans,
[2]
sometimes referred to as the Pelagiceti.
[9]
Basilosaurus
, unlike modern cetaceans, had various types of teeth?such as
canines
and
molars
?in its mouth (
heterodonty
), and it probably was able to chew its food, in contrast to modern cetaceans which swallow their food whole.
[10]
[11]
Taxonomic history
[
edit
]
Etymology
[
edit
]
Outdated restoration of
Basilosaurus
by Andrew R. Janson from 1956 showing a serpent-like design
The two species of
Basilosaurus
are
B. cetoides
, whose remains were discovered in the United States, and
B. isis
, which was discovered in Egypt.
B. cetoides
is the
type species
for the genus.
[12]
[13]
The
holotype
of B. cetoides was found in
Ouachita Parish
,
Louisiana
.
[15]
Vertebrae were sent to the
American Philosophical Society
by a Judge Henry Bry of
Ouachita Parish, Louisiana
and Judge John Creagh of
Clarke County
,
Alabama
. Both fossils ended up in the hands of the anatomist
Richard Harlan
, who requested more examples from Creagh.
[16]
[17]
The first bones were unearthed when rain caused a hillside full of sea shells to slide. The bones were lying in a curved line "measuring upwards of four hundred feet in length, with intervals which were vacant." Many of these bones were used as
andirons
and destroyed; Bry saved the bones he could find, but was convinced more bones were still to be found on the location. Bry speculated that the bones must have belonged to a "sea monster" and supplied "a piece having the appearance of a tooth" to help determine which kind.
[18]
Harlan identified the tooth as a
wedge-shaped shell
and instead focused on "a vertebra of enormous dimensions" which he assumed belonged to the order "
Enalio-Sauri
of
Conybeare
", "found only in the sub-cretaceous series."
[19]
He noted that some parts of the vertebra were similar to those of
Plesiosaurus
and skull was similar to
Mosasaurus
, but that they were completely different in proportions. Comparing his vertebra to those of large dinosaurs such as
Megalosaurus
and
Iguanodon
, Harlan concluded that his specimen was considerably larger?he estimated the animal to have been no less than 80?100 ft (24?30 m) long?and therefore suggested the name
Basilosaurus
, meaning "king lizard".
[20]
Harlan brought his assembled specimens (including fragments of jaw and teeth, humerus, and rib fragments) to the UK where he presented them to anatomist
Richard Owen
. Owen concluded that the molar teeth were two-rooted, a dental morphology unknown in fishes and reptiles, and more complex and varied than in any known reptile, and therefore that the specimen must be a mammal. Owen correctly associated the teeth with cetaceans, but he thought it was an herbivorous animal, similar to
sirenians
.
[21]
Consequently, Owen proposed renaming the find
Zeuglodon cetoides
("whale-like
yoke
teeth" in reference to the double-rooted teeth) and Harlan agreed.
[22]
Wadi El Hitan
[
edit
]
Skeleton of
B. isis
at
Wadi El Hitan
Basilosaurus isis
fossil, Nantes History Museum in France
W?d? al-??t?n (
Arabic
:
???? ???????
,
lit.
'Valley of the Whales') is an Egyptian sandstone formation where many early-whale skeletons were discovered.
[23]
German botanist
Georg August Schweinfurth
discovered the first archaeocete whale in Egypt (
Zeuglodon osiris
, now
Saghacetus
osiris
) in 1879. He visited the
Qasr el Sagha Formation
in 1884 and 1886 and missed the now famous Wadi El Hitan by a few kilometers. German paleontologist
Wilhelm Barnim Dames
described the material, including the type specimen of
Z. osiris
, a well-preserved dentary.
[24]
Hugh Beadnell, head of the Geological Survey of Egypt 1896?1906,
[24]
named and described
Zeuglodon isis
in
Andrews 1904
based on a partial mandible and several vertebrae from Wadi El Hitan in Egypt.
[25]
Andrews 1906
[26]
described a skull and some vertebrae of a smaller archaeocete and named it
Prozeuglodon atrox
, now known today as
Dorudon
atrox
.
Kellogg 1936
discovered deciduous teeth in this skull and it was then believed to be a juvenile [
Pro
]
zeuglodon isis
for decades before more complete fossils of mature
Dorudon
were discovered.
[24]
[28]
In the 1980s,
Elwyn L. Simons
and
Philip D. Gingerich
started to excavate at Qasr el-Sagha and Wadi El Hitan with the hope of finding material that could match archaeocete fossils from Pakistan. Since then, over 500 archaeocete skeletons have been found at these two locations, of which most are
B. isis
or
D. atrox
, several of the latter carrying bite marks assumed to be from the former.
[24]
A 1990 paper described additional fossils including foot bones and speculated that the reduced hind limbs were used as copulatory guides.
[29]
One thing that was noted, was that whale fossils were so common, that when a mason company looked at their newest table counter, they realized that they had created a cross section of a 40 million year old basilosaurid fossil. This find was another thing that caught the eye of Gingerich.
[30]
In 2015, a complete skeleton, the first-ever such find for
Basilosaurus
, was uncovered in Wadi El Hitan, preserved with the remains of its prey, including a
Dorudon
and several species of fish.
[31]
The whale's skeleton also shows signs of scavenging or predation by large sharks such as the
otodontid
Carcharocles sokolovi
.
Wastebasket taxa
[
edit
]
Many dubious species have been assigned to
Basilosaurus
in the past which have since been invalidated or were too incomplete to determine anything.
Nomina dubia
[
edit
]
A
nomen dubium
is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. There are a few documented cases of this being applied to
Basilosaurus
in the past.
Albert Koch's "Hydrarchos" fossil skeleton from 1845, two
Basilosaurus
or
Pontogeneus
skeletons tied together which was presented as the bones of an ancient sea monster. The skeleton was destroyed during the
great Chicago fire
in 1871.
- Zeuglodon wanklyni
, was a supposed species of
Basilosaurus
, that described in 1876 based on a skull found in the Wanklyn's Barton Cliff in the United Kingdom. This single specimen, however, quickly disappeared and has since been declared a
nomen nudum
or referred to as
Zygorhiza
wanklyni
.
[32]
- Zeuglodon vredense
or
vredensis
was named in the 19th century based on a single, isolated tooth without any kind of accompanying description, and
Kellogg 1936
therefore declared it a
nomen nudum
.
[34]
- Zeuglodon puschi[i]
was a species that was said to come from Poland, it was named by
Brandt 1873
.
Kellogg 1936
noted that the species is based on an incomplete vertebra of indeterminable position and, therefore, that the species is invalid.
[36]
- Zeuglodon brachyspondylus
was described by
Johannes Peter Muller
based on some vertebrae from "
Zeuglodon hydrarchus
",
[37]
better known as Dr. Albert Koch's "Hydrarchos".
Kellogg 1936
, synonymized it with
Pontogeneus
priscus
, which a 2005 study declared a
nomen dubium
.
[38]
Reassigned species
[
edit
]
Restoration of
B. cetoides
- Basilosaurus drazindai
was named by a 1997 study based on a single lumbar vertebra. Originally, the species was thought to have lived in
Pakistan
and the
UK
.
[39]
It was later declared a
nomen dubium
by Uhen (2013), but Gingerich and Zouhri (in press) reassigned it to the genus
Eocetus
. This species was at one point in time concluded to be the earliest record of the genus
Basilosaurus
, before its reclassification.
[40]
[41]
[42]
- Zeuglodon elliotsmithii
,
Z. sensitivius
, and
Z. zitteli
were synonymized and grouped under the genus
Saghacetus
by a 1992 study.
[43]
- Zeuglodon paulsoni
from
Ukraine
(then the Russian Empire) was named by
Brandt 1873
. It was synonymized with
Platyosphys
but is now considered
nomen dubium
. Gingerich and Zouhri (in press), however, maintain
Platyosphys
as valid.
[42]
[44]
- Basilosaurus caucasicus
also known as
Basilosaurus caucasicum
or
Zeuglodon caucasicum
was a species described in the
Russian Empire
, it gets its name from the
Caucasus
of where it was found in the 1890s.
[45]
The fossil was reassigned to the toothed whale
Microzeuglodon
caucasicum
.
[46]
- Basilosaurus harwoodi
was discovered in the
Murray River
near
Wellington
in
South Australia
. This species classification was controversial; T. S. Hall (1911) placed
Basilosaurus harwoodi
(or
Zeuglodon harwoodi
) in the genus
Metasqualodon
.
[47]
[48]
- In 1906, German naturalist
Othenio Abel
thought fossils from the Eocene of Alabama, previously described in 1900 as being a
Basilosaurus
hip bone by American zoologist
Frederic Augustus Lucas
, represented the shoulder of a large bird similar to
Gastornis
, and named it
Alabamornis gigantea
.
[49]
Lucas later countered his conclusion in 1908 as he reassigned the fossil specimens to the original conclusion of a
Basilosaurus
hip bone.
[50]
Description
[
edit
]
Size compared to a human
Basilosaurus
is one of the largest animals known to exist between the
K?Pg extinction event
66 million years ago (mya) and around 15 million years ago when modern
cetaceans
began to reach enormous sizes.
[51]
[52]
B. cetoides
measured 17?20 metres (56?66 ft) long and weighed more than 5.8 metric tons (6.4 short tons), while
B. isis
measured 15?18 metres (49?59 ft) long and weighed nearly 6.5 metric tons (7.2 short tons).
[31]
[53]
Basilosaurus
is distinguished from other genera of basilosaurids by its larger body size and its more elongated posterior thoracic, lumbar, and anterior caudal
vertebrae
.
Basilosaurus
does not have the vertically oriented metapophyses seen in its closest relative the basilosaurid known as
Basiloterus
.
Basilosaurus
is considered to be the largest of archeocete whales.
[39]
[54]
Cranium
[
edit
]
Comparison of the skulls of
Basilosaurus isis
(fossil at
Naturmuseum Senckenberg
, top) and
B. cetoides
(fossil from the
North American Museum of Ancient Life
, bottom)
The
dental formula
for
B. isis
is
3.1.4.2
3.1.4.3
. The upper and lower molars and second to fourth premolars are double-rooted and high-crowned.
[55]
The head of
Basilosaurus
did not have room for a
melon
like modern toothed whales, and the brain was smaller in comparison, as well. They are not believed to have had the
echolocation
capabilities nor the social dynamics of extant cetaceans.
A 2011 study concluded that the skull of
Basilosaurus
is asymmetrical like in modern toothed whales, and not, as previously assumed, symmetrical like in baleen whales and
artiodactyls
(which are closely related to cetaceans). In modern toothed whales, this asymmetry is associated with high-frequency sound production and echolocation, neither of which is thought to have been present in
Basilosaurus
. This probably evolved to detect sound underwater, with a fatty sound-receiving pad in the mandible.
[56]
In the skull, the inner and middle ear are enclosed by a dense
tympanic bulla
.
[57]
The
synapomorphic
cetacean air
sinus
system is partially present in basilosaurids, including the pterygoid, peribullary, maxillary, and frontal sinuses.
[58]
The
periotic bone
, which surrounds the inner ear, is partially isolated. The
mandibular canal
is large and laterally flanked by a thin bony wall, the pan bone or acoustic
fenestra
. These features enabled basilosaurs to hear directionally in water.
[57]
The ear of basilosaurids is more derived than those in earlier
archaeocetes
, such as
remingtonocetids
and
protocetids
, in the acoustic isolation provided by the air-filled sinuses inserted between the ear and the skull. The basilosaurid ear did, however, have a large
external auditory meatus
, strongly reduced in modern cetaceans, but, though this was probably functional, it can have been of little use under water.
[59]
Hind limbs
[
edit
]
B. isis
hind limb
A 16-meter (52 ft) individual of
B. isis
had 35-centimeter-long (14 in) hind limbs with fused tarsals and only three digits. The limited size of the limb and the absence of an articulation with the sacral vertebrae make a locomotory function unlikely.
[60]
Analysis has shown that the reduced limbs could rapidly adduct between only two positions.
[29]
Possible uses for the structure have been given, such as
clasper
-like body functions (compare to the function of
pelvic spurs
, the last vestiges of limbs in certain modern snakes). These limbs would have been used to guide the animals' long bodies during mating.
[61]
Spine and movement
[
edit
]
A complete
Basilosaurus
skeleton was found in 2015, and several attempts have been made to reconstruct the vertebral column from partial skeletons.
Kellogg 1936
estimated a total of 58 vertebrae, based on two partial and nonoverlapping skeletons of
B. cetoides
from Alabama. More complete fossils uncovered in Egypt in the 1990s allowed a more accurate estimation: the vertebral column of
B. isis
has been reconstructed from three overlapping skeletons to a total of 70 vertebrae with a vertebral formula interpreted as seven cervical, 18 thoracic, 20 lumbar and sacral, and 25 caudal vertebrae. The vertebral formula of
B. cetoides
can be assumed to be the same.
[12]
Restoration
of
Basilosaurus cetoides
Basilosaurus
has an anguilliform (
eel
-like) body shape because of the elongation of the
centra
of the thoracic through anterior caudal vertebrae. In life, these vertebrae were filled with marrow, and because of the enlarged size, this made them buoyant.
Basilosaurus
probably swam predominantly in two dimensions at the sea surface, in contrast to the smaller
Dorudon
, which was likely a diving, three-dimensional swimmer.
[62]
The skeletal anatomy of the tail suggests that a small fluke was probably present, which would have aided only vertical motion.
[63]
Similarly sized thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and caudal vertebrae imply that it moved in an
anguilliform
fashion, but predominantly in the vertical plane. Paleontologist
Philip D. Gingerich
theorized that
Basilosaurus
may also have moved in a very odd, horizontal anguilliform fashion to some degree, something completely unknown in modern cetaceans. The vertebrae appear to have been hollow, and likely also fluid-filled. This would imply that
Basilosaurus
typically functioned in only two dimensions at the ocean surface, compared with the three-dimensional habits of most other cetaceans. Judging from the relatively weak axial musculature and the thick bones in the limbs,
Basilosaurus
is not believed to have been capable of sustained swimming or deep diving, or
terrestrial locomotion
.
[64]
Basilosaurus did still have an elbow joint in its flipper like a seal.
Paleobiology
[
edit
]
Feeding
[
edit
]
B. isis
jaw muscles
The cheek teeth of
Basilosaurus
retain a complex morphology and functional
occlusion
. Heavy wear on the teeth reveals that food was first chewed then swallowed.
[57]
Scientists were able to estimate the
bite force
of
Basilosaurus isis
by analyzing the scarred skull bones of another species of prehistoric whale,
Dorudon
, and concluded that it could exert a maximum bite force of at least 16,400 newtons (3,700 lbf) and could possibly exceed 20,000 newtons (4,500 lbf).
[65]
Analyses of the stomach contents of
B. cetoides
has shown that this species fed exclusively on fish and large sharks, while bite marks on the skulls of juvenile
Dorudon
have been matched with the dentition of
B. isis
, suggesting a dietary difference between the two species, similar to that found in different populations of modern
killer whales
.
[55]
It was probably an active predator rather than a scavenger.
[66]
The discovery of juvenile
Dorudon
at Wadi Al Hitan bearing distinctive bite marks on their skulls indicates that
B. isis
would have aimed for the skulls of its victims to kill its prey, and then subsequently torn its meals apart, based on the disarticulated remains of the
Dorudon
skeletons. The finding further cements theories that
B. isis
was an
apex predator
that may have hunted newborn and juvenile
Dorudon
at Wadi Al Hitan when mothers of the latter came to give birth.
[31]
The stomach contents of an elderly male
B. isis
not only includes
Dorudon
but the fish
Pycnodus
mokattamensis
.
[31]
Paleoecology
[
edit
]
Basilosaurus isis
(top) and
Dorudon atrox
(bottom) skeletons compared, from Voss et al. 2019
Basilosaurus
would have been the top predator of its environment.
[67]
It lived in the warm tropical environment of the Eocene in areas abundant with sea grasses, such as
Thalassodendron
,
Thalassia
(also known as turtle grass) and
Halodule
.
[68]
[69]
[70]
It would have coexisted with the dolphin-like
Dorudon
,
[71]
the whales
Cynthiacetus
and
Basiloterus
,
[72]
the primitive
sirenian
Protosiren
, the early elephant
Moeritherium
,
[73]
[74]
[75]
the sea turtle
Puppigerus
[76]
and many sharks, such as
Galeocerdo alabamensis
,
[77]
Physogaleus
,
Otodus
,
Squatina prima
,
Striatolamia
,
Carcharocles sokolovi
and
Isurus praecursor
.
[78]
Extinction
[
edit
]
Basilosaurus fossil record seems to end at about 35?33.9 mya.
[79]
Basilosaurus extinction coincides with the Eocene?Oligocene extinction event which happened 33.9 mya,
[80]
which also resulted in the extinction of almost all other archaeocetes.
The event has been attributed to volcanic activity, meteor impacts, or a sudden change in climate (such as the environment getting cooler), the latter of which might have caused changes in the ocean by disrupting oceanic circulation, thus limiting the numbers of prey for predators like
Basilosaurus
to feed on.
[82]
[83]
[84]
Basilosaurus
went extinct leaving no descendants, along with the rest of the Archaeocetes. After their extinction, the new currents and deep ocean upwelling created a new environment that favored the evolutionary diversification of modern cetaceans (Neocetes) such as early toothed and baleen whales, from more advanced Archaeocetes that evolved the traits associated with Neocetes.
Classification
[
edit
]
Below is the phylogenetic analysis on the placement of
Basilosaurus
. Two subfamilies exist in
Basilosauridae
:
Basilosaurinae
which includes
Basilosaurus
, and
Dorudontinae
. These groups have been declared invalid in the past.
[85]
[86]
Dorudon
remains were once thought to represent juvenile
Basilosaurus
.
[87]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
The species
B. cetoides
is the
state fossil
of
Alabama
[82]
and
Mississippi
.
[88]
[89]
During the early 19th century,
B. cetoides
fossils were so common (and sufficiently large) that they were regularly used as furniture in the American South.
[90]
Basilosaurus
is featured in the
BBC
's
Walking with...
series in
Walking with Beasts
and
Sea Monsters
.
[91]
[92]
[93]
In the novel
Moby-Dick
by
Herman Melville
,
Ishmael
cites the
Basilosaurus
during his studies as a possible whale fossil.
[94]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Dir Abu Lifa (Eocene of Egypt)"
.
PBDB
. Mark Uhen.
- ^
a
b
Uhen, Mark D. (2002).
"Basilosaurids"
. In Perrin, William F.; Wursig, Bernd; Thewissen, J. G. M. (eds.).
Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals
. Academic Press. pp.
79?81
.
ISBN
978-0-12-551340-1
.
- ^
Werdelin, Lars; Sanders, William Joseph (20 July 2010).
Cenozoic Mammals of Africa
. Univ of California Press.
ISBN
9780520257214
.
- ^
a
b
Smith, Kathlyn M.; Hastings, Alexander K.; Bebej, Ryan M.; Uhen, Mark D. (2022).
"Biogeographic, stratigraphic, and environmental distribution of Basilosaurus (Mammalia, Cetacea) in North America with a review of the late Eocene shoreline in the southeastern coastal plain"
.
Journal of Paleontology
.
96
(2): 439?451.
Bibcode
:
2022JPal...96..439S
.
doi
:
10.1017/jpa.2021.90
.
ISSN
0022-3360
.
S2CID
240244165
.
- ^
M, Carlos; ujano.
"36-million-year-old whale fossil found in Peruvian desert"
.
phys.org
. Retrieved
23 March
2022
.
- ^
Aquino, Marco; Valdez, Carlos (18 March 2022).
"In Peru, skull of 'marine monster' points to fearsome ancient predator"
.
Reuters
. Retrieved
23 March
2022
.
- ^
"Valley of the Whales (magazine)"
.
National Geographic
. August 2010. Archived from
the original
on 4 August 2019.
- ^
"Basilosaurus FOSSIL MAMMAL GENUS"
.
Encyclopedia Britannica
.
- ^
"Clade Pelagiceti Uhen 2008 (whale)"
.
PBDB
.
- ^
"HOW DOES DIGESTION TAKE PLACE IN WHALES?"
.
Whales, online
. 15 July 2015.
- ^
"Basilosaurus the Bone-Crusher"
.
National geographic
. 6 March 2015. Archived from
the original
on 7 August 2019.
- ^
a
b
Zalmout, I. S.; Mustafa, H. A.; Gingerich, P. D. (2000).
"Priabonian
Basilosaurus isis
(Cetacea) from the Wadi Esh-Shallala Formation: first marine mammal from the Eocene of Jordan"
.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
.
20
(1): 201?204.
doi
:
10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0201:pbicft]2.0.co;2
.
OCLC
4908948040
.
S2CID
130179065
.
- ^
"Basilosaurus"
. BBC Nature
. Retrieved
24 August
2013
.
- ^
"Bry Plantation (Eocene of the United States)"
.
PBDB
.
- ^
Switek, Brian (21 September 2008).
"The Legacy of the
Basilosaurus
"
. ScienceBlogs
. Retrieved
14 September
2013
.
- ^
Brian Switek (December 2010).
"How Did Whales Evolve?"
.
Smithsonian
.
- ^
Harlan 1834
, p. 400
- ^
Harlan 1834
, p. 401
- ^
Harlan 1834
, pp. 402?403
- ^
Owen 1839
, pp. 72?73
- ^
Owen 1839
, p. 75
- ^
"Wadi Al-Hitan"
. World Heritage Site
. Retrieved
17 August
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Gingerich, P. D. (2008).
"Early Evolution of Whales: A Century of Research in Egypt"
(PDF)
. In Fleagle, J. G.; Gilbert, C. C. (eds.).
Elwyn Simons: A Search for Origins
. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Berlin: Springer. pp. 107?124.
ISBN
978-0-387-73895-6
.
- ^
Andrews 1904
, pp. 214?215
- ^
Andrews 1906
, pp. 255
- ^
Uhen, Mark D. (2004). "Form, Function, and Anatomy of
Dorudon Atrox
(Mammalia, Cetacea): An Archaeocete from the Middle to Late Eocene of Egypt".
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.
34
: 11.
hdl
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2027.42/41255
.
- ^
a
b
Gingerich, Philip D.;
Smith, B. Holly
; Simons, Elwyn L. (1990). "Hind limbs of eocene basilosaurus: evidence of feet in whales".
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Bibcode
:
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.
doi
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10.1126/science.249.4965.154
.
PMID
17836967
.
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35307146
.
- ^
"Fossil Found in Kitchen Counter"
.
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.
- ^
a
b
c
d
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But by far the most wonderful of all cetacean relics was the almost complete vast skeleton of an extinct monster, found in the year 1842, on the plantation of Judge Creagh, in Alabama. The awe-stricken credulous slaves in the vicinity took it for the bones of one of the fallen angels. The Alabama doctors declared it a huge reptile, and bestowed upon it the name of
Basilosaurus
. But some specimen bones of it being taken across the sea to Owen, the English Anatomist, it turned out that this alleged reptile was a whale, though of a departed species. A significant illustration of the fact, again and again repeated in this book, that the skeleton of the whale furnishes but little clue to the shape of his fully invested body. So Owen rechristened the monster
Zeuglodon
; and in his paper read before the London Geological Society, pronounced it, in substance, one of the most extraordinary creatures which the mutations of the globe have blotted out of existence.
Cited literature
[
edit
]
- Andrews, C. W.
(1904).
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.
Geological Magazine
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1
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{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
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.
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Description of the Hydrarchos harlani : a gigantic fossil reptile: lately discovered by the author in the state of Alabama
. B. Owen, printer.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]