Basilosaurus

Live reconstruction of Basilosaurus

• North America (Louisiana, Alabama, United States)
• Europe ( England)
• Africa (Egypt: Wadi al - Hitan )
• Asia (Pakistan )

• Basilosaurus cetoides
• Basilosaurus isis
• Basilosaurus drazindai

Basilosaurus ( "King Six Men " from Ancient Greek βασιλεύς, called βασιλέως basileús, BASILEOS = "king"; σαῦρος sauros = " lizard" ) is an extinct Walgattung the family of Basilosauridae.

Description

The animals lived before about 41-35 million years ago during the late Eocene and had a snake-like shape. They owned a Fluke like today's whales, and outer rear limbs, which were but as with Dorudontidae very small and could have been useful at best in mating, as has been suggested by some scholars today, as you ascribe a different meaning these vestigial hind limbs knew. Basilosaurus was the largest mammal of its time, reaching a length of about 18 m. Of extent of head about 1.5 m, a large part of the total length was formed by the long tail.

It is believed today that Basilosaurus similar to today's killer whales or the Mesozoic marine reptiles such as the mosasaur led a predatory existence and fed on fish and smaller marine mammals. For breath he always had to stretch the head out of the water because he had no blowhole in contrast to the modern whales.

Naming

With the discovery of fossils, the researchers thought they had found dinosaur bones and gave the animals a typical dinosaur scientific name. As it later turned out that the fossils belonged to mammals, suggested Sir Richard Owen the appropriate name before Zeuglodon. After scientific nomenclature, however, applies always the first name assigned as the authoritative, even though the middle name Zeuglodon is quite common still ( " Jochzahn " because of the teeth with double roots, typical of marine mammals ). Other fossils of the same species were occupied with the name Zeuglodon, which, however, clearly the recently discovered group Basilosaurus could be assigned and the name Zeuglodon made ​​obsolete. Species of this genus were Basilosaurus cetoides (the largest ), Basilosaurus drazindai ( found in Pakistan ), Basilosaurus isis (Egypt ), from which numerous fossils in Wadi al - Hitan, Whale Valley, have been found in Egypt.

1845 published the German collector Albert Koch in New York City, a 35 -meter-long skeleton of a supposed sea serpent, which he called Hydrarchos. He claimed to have found the skeleton in Clarksville, Alabama and it would represent the remains in the natural order, as he had found them. Koch was exposed as a con man when it turned out that the skeleton of parts was composed of at least five different Basilosaurus - copies. It was finally destroyed in the Great Fire of Chicago.