Monster of the Deep: Scientists Find Fossil Skull of 43 ft Long Whale

Written by Harold Burns Friday, 02 July 2010 20:42

LIMA, PERU - A new species of 'killer' sperm whale with fearsome teeth that roamed the seas more than 12 million years ago has been discovered by scientists. The fossilized skull and jaw of the gigantic creature, which was 43 foot long with a 10 foot head, were found off the coast of Peru. It is believed the creature would have preyed on other whales as it boasted 14 inch teeth. Dubbed Leviathan Melvillei –after Herman Melville the author of the fictional Moby Dick – it has been described in the journal Nature as the largest fossil sperm whale ever found.

Predator: The Leviathan melvillei would have attacked and killed other large whales, according to scientists

Discovery: The fossil was found by researchers in the Pisco-Ica desert, Peru.

In terms of size and appearance, it would have been much like a modern whale – however, Leviathan would have been an aggressive predator, unlike today’s  creatures.

While now the whales they have a big bite, their teeth are relatively small and are restricted to the lower jaw - and they feed by suction.

But Dr Olivier Lambert, of the Natural History Museum, in Paris, said the fossil’s jaw had huge teeth on both sides, giving it the biggest bite ever to kill prey up to 26ft long.

Dr Lambert said: ‘This sperm whale could firmly hold large prey with its interlocking teeth, inflict deep wounds and tear large pieces from the body of the victim.

‘With their large size and robust jaws, Leviathan adults were surely free from predation. ‘It was a kind of sea monster.

‘And it’s interesting to note that at the same time in the same waters was another monster, which was a giant shark about 15 metres long. It’s possible they may have fought each other.’

Anthony Friscia, a paleontologist at the University of California, Los Angeles said scattered finds of huge fossilized teeth had long hinted at the ancient whale's existence.

But without a skull to fit them in, the creature's shape, size and feeding habits remained a mystery. 'The fact that they have found the entire jaw - well, almost the entire skull - is what's pretty unprecedented,' he said.

The ancient beasts 'were the killer whales of their time, although on a much grander scale,' Friscia said. 'They were close to the biggest things around.'

The Natural History Museum in Rotterdam will exhibit reconstructions of the sea monster later this year.

Casts of the three largest teeth are on display now. The three-metre fossilised skull was discovered by researchers in southern Peru in 2008.

The unique fossil will remain in Peru, in the collection of the Natural History Museum in Lima.

Dr Lambert and colleagues said: 'This sperm whale could firmly hold large prey with its interlocking teeth, inflict deep wounds and tear large pieces from the body of the victim, as performed on a smaller scale by the delphinid Orcinus, the main modern meat-eating cetacean.' 

'The killer whale (Orcinus orca), commonly referred to as the orca - and, less commonly, blackfish - is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family.  

'It has been reported occasionally to cooperatively attack and kill most of the large baleen whale species and sperm whales, as well as smaller fish and seabirds.' 

The researchers, whose findings are published in Nature, added: 'With their large size and robust jaws, Leviathan adults were surely free from predation.'  The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) that now roams our oceans has a totally different choice of food and way of feeding. It feeds on squid that are taken by suction feeding at great depths. This modern sperm whale has smaller teeth in the lower jaw with the upper jaws being practically toothless. Sperm whales have huge brains that weigh about 20 pounds, the largest of any animal. It is estimated there are about 200,000 world-wide and they are now considered an endangered species.