It's still less than half the length of a blue whale
The only thing it has going for it is teeth
Edit: [img]http://www.facepunch.com/fp/rating/clock.png[/img]
Blue Whales skulls are probably 10-20 feet in length, the largest blue whale recorded being around 110 feet long.
Sperm Whales measure just about 57 feet. Half the length of a blue whale, and having a skull length of about what I'd assume 10-13 feet.
This fella wouldn't be much bigger than a modern sperm whale, they just got a shitload of big teeth and are probably a bit longer. Here's a diagram of the skull they found:
[img]http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/3994/news2010whalefossil2.jpg[/img]
Think Orca on steroids.
There's always a bigger fish.
[QUOTE=Dr. Fishtastic;23035586][IMG]http://blogs.bet.com/entertainment/spotlight/bet-blog/assets/2009/02/xzibit.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
oh fuck you, I was gonna post that
Sounds like it occupied the same ecological niche as the giant Mosasaurs. I wonder why such a niche existed for such a long time, almost since the time life first existed in the ocean, but is strangely absent today. Aside from Killer Whales attacking young humpbacks that is.
Fuck the Megalodonm, this is now god.
[QUOTE=RR_Raptor65;23036549]Sounds like it occupied the same ecological niche as the giant Mosasaurs. I wonder why such a niche existed for such a long time, almost since the time life first existed in the ocean, but is strangely absent today. Aside from Killer Whales attacking young humpbacks that is.[/QUOTE]
The food got smaller, and so the large beasties slowly got smaller so that they could actually survive off a smaller food supply.
And even if a large one was still existing in the 19th century, we practically hunted the whales to extinction in the need for whale oil, so we pretty much killed off a food supply.
[QUOTE=OvB;23034203][img]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/3496/100630techgiant20whaleg.jpg[/img]
[release]
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[B] giant 3-meter (10-foot) skull[/B] of what's been dubbed Leviathan melvillei (in honor of the author of "Moby Dick") was found with [B]teeth in its top and bottom jaws up to 36 centimeters (14 inches) long. [/B]The discovery is reported in the July 1 issue of the journal Nature[I].[/I]
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[I].[/I]
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.
[url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38021150/ns/technology_and_science-science/?GT1=43001[/url]
[/release]
Holy shit. I can't wait until they release photos of the skull. This thing was huge. 10 foot long skull, 14 inch long teeth, this thing could have dueled it out with the megalodon. Makes you wonder what else the ocean has hiding in its depths.[/QUOTE]
But it's eating a dolphin :colbert:
[QUOTE=Mr. Agree;23036938]But it's eating a dolphin :colbert:[/QUOTE]
That's a baleen whale bro. (in the picture)
[QUOTE=Mr. Agree;23036938]But it's eating a dolphin :colbert:[/QUOTE]
Is this your first time seeing a whale like that.
[QUOTE=Mavericks;23034296]It would be so awesome if one of these were alive today.[/QUOTE]
No, no it wouldn't, getting ships sunk by this beast thinking they are whales would not be fun, we have enough trouble with sharks thinking surfers are fish.
[QUOTE=krakadict;23035384]if this was alive the Japs would have a field day
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Racism" - TH89))[/highlight][/QUOTE]
Wait, how is this racist?
[QUOTE=Fire Kracker;23034905]thinking about something so big is terrifying really
I'm terrified of whales already[/QUOTE]
Nice thread
tits
[QUOTE=Heartboy;23035002]The girl in your avatar has some nice tits.[/QUOTE]
The gif is ruined when you notice her finger nails.
Someone please post the full size version.
[QUOTE=Dlaor;23034698][quote]sperm whale[/quote]
:v:[/QUOTE]
Apparently I'm the only one who found this funny... :eng99:
[QUOTE]dator 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[I].[/I]
To learn more about its eating habits, [B][U][I]Fordyce[/I][/U][/B] 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.[/QUOTE]Wait, Fordyce? As in [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordyce%27s_spot"]Fordyce's spots[/URL]? :geno:
[QUOTE=wewt!;23037972]Wait, Fordyce? As in [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordyce%27s_spot"]Fordyce's spots[/URL]? :geno:[/QUOTE]
:geno:
Man, wish I could see a live one...through a telescope from MILES away. I'd love to be slurped up by a whale and camp in its innards, but this thing will chew me to bits.
Megalodon VS Leviathan. This I wanna see(JAWS REMAKE PLS)
[QUOTE=Dlaor;23037760]Apparently I'm the only one who found this funny... :eng99:[/QUOTE]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spermaceti[/url]
I definitely would not want to swim in prehistoric waters
Thats frightening.
[QUOTE=Electrocuter;23037493]No, no it wouldn't, getting ships sunk by this beast thinking they are whales would not be fun, we have enough trouble with sharks thinking surfers are fish.
Wait, how is this racist?[/QUOTE]
"Jap" is a racist word.
And don't argue about it. It is.
[Quote]I definitely would not want to swim in prehistoric waters[/quote]
And that's hardly the meanest thing ever to prowl the oceans. Ever heard of a Eurypterid? Think giant freeswimming lobster of death and you have some idea. Biggest anthropod. Ever. You want pics? Pics you will have:
First: the Scale [img]http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2007/11/071120195710.jpg[/img]
That's how big these monsters got.
Second: Artists impressions
[img]http://www.mbscientific.com/eurypteridSM.jpg[/img]
[img]http://lesdinos.free.fr/pterygotus.jpg[/img]
Third: fossils
[img]http://earth.geology.yale.edu/~deb47/pics/eurypterid.jpg[/img]
[img]http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ifischer/Collections/Fossils/Images/eurypterid-ventral.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=Mavericks;23034296]It would be so awesome if one of these were alive today.[/QUOTE]
yeah, then titanic would have a bit different story.
:byodood:
[QUOTE=kootee;23040073]yeah, then titanic would have a bit different story.[/QUOTE]
No, Titanic would never have even been created.
[QUOTE=Electrocuter;23037493]
Wait, how is this racist?[/QUOTE]
Norwegians whale too :frown:
[QUOTE=Billiam;23040634]Norwegians whale too :frown:[/QUOTE]
Damn Nors
[QUOTE=Uberslug;23039876]"Jap" is a racist word.
And don't argue about it. It is.[/QUOTE]
Jap is short for japanese.
So yank is racist for americans too right?
derp
[QUOTE=DrBreen;23042039]Jap is short for japanese.
So yank is racist for americans too right?
derp[/QUOTE]
It is used as a derogatory term a lot.
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