Mr.Trunk · @mrtrunk
7 followers · 12333 posts · Server dromedary.seedoubleyou.me
Cameron McCormick · @LordGeekington
79 followers · 491 posts · Server sauropods.win

Satirical long-necked illustration produced by Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans in his book “The Great Sea-Serpent”. The context is that Mr. Searles V. Wood Jr. speculated — in the journal Nature! — about Basilosaurus being responsible for long-necked sightings. Seemingly he had no access to a skeletal (?!?)

Link:
nature.com/articles/023054a0

#basilosaurus #seaserpent #ancientwhaleweek

Last updated 1 year ago

Cameron McCormick · @LordGeekington
79 followers · 490 posts · Server sauropods.win

Reconstruction of from Cleland’s 1916 “Geology”

vs.

My own attempt to give Basilosaurus the correct number of vertebrae and an appropriate amount of soft tissue.

#basilosaurus #ancientwhaleweek #whales #cetaceans

Last updated 1 year ago

Cameron McCormick · @LordGeekington
78 followers · 488 posts · Server sauropods.win

For I’d like celebrate how much better reconstructs have gotten over the years. This is from Roy Mackal’s 1980 “Searching for Hidden Animals” and uh… it looks seriously unprofessional to modern eyes (and doesn’t follow the skeleton whatsoever).

Skeletal is from:
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti

#ancientwhaleweek #basilosaurus

Last updated 1 year ago

Adam S. Smith · @AdamStuartSmith
424 followers · 697 posts · Server sauropods.win

On spare a thought for all the extinct prehistoric whales.

There are 8 toys in the whale category on the Dinosaur Toy Blog so far, including several versions of the serpent-like and mistakenly named whale Basilosaurus, and the appropriately named sperm-whale relative Livyatan: dinotoyblog.com/classification

#worldwhaleday #DinoToyBlog #whales #toys #pnso #basilosaurus

Last updated 2 years ago

Mesozoic Market · @mesozoicmarket
1 followers · 6 posts · Server mastodon.cloud

A large primitive whale tooth of a from the Samlat Formation in the Sahara Desert. These aged teeth are commonly marketed as . Unlike most basilosaurid teeth, this specimen is not composited, though glue had been applied to keep the pieces together.

#fossil #eocene #basilosaurus #basilosaurid

Last updated 2 years ago

DailyMegafauna · @dailymegafauna
145 followers · 70 posts · Server synapse.cafe

Today's is Basilosaurus! This Eocene was about 60 feet long and sported tiny hind limbs. It is possible that the hind limbs were used to hold onto partners during mating, though they were disconnected from the rest of the whale skeleton and could not have supported weight on land. Basilosaurus's elongated shape and small tail flukes suggest that it swam by moving most of its body up and down--not just its tail.

Although this may sound like a silly mode of transportation, was the apex of its time. With strong jaw muscles, large incisors, and serrated molars at the back of its mouth, this whale proved a formidable foe for , , and even other .

At Whale Valley--a rich source of marine fossils that was likely an Eocene nesting ground-- evidence paints a picture of Basilosaurus's hunting habits. Nesting fossils show the contents of its stomach, and specimens of another whale species, dorodon, show bite marks consistent with Basilosaurus's teeth. Most dorodon fossils nested in Basilosaurus skeletons are juveniles--suggesting that Basilosaaurus lurked near these nesting grounds, targeting young dorodons just as modern target the calves of other whales.

#megafauna #whale #basilosaurus #preadtor #fish #sharks #marinemammals #fossil #orcas

Last updated 2 years ago

Artzame · @Tenguzame
19 followers · 81 posts · Server mastodon.art
Thomas Grenda · @l3v3n
1 followers · 2 posts · Server universeodon.com