Basilosaurus

The most feared predator in the Tethys Ocean was the Basilosaurus (Basilosaurus isis). It lived in the late Eocene period and was on top of the ocean food chain. They were 18 metres long; even longer than a blue whale, the biggest whale on Earth now! The average weight for a Basilosaurus is about 60 tons. Like all whales, they are mammals. Scientists think they had white undersides and gray backs. They had 6 fins; one on the back, two tiny ones for mating, one on top, and two for steering. They were blood-curling carnivores that devoured big animals like Dorudon, sharks, Moeritherium, fish, and many more animals. They could eat anything if they were starving, as long as it was meat. They needed 80 kilograms of food a day.

Basilosaurus were 4 times the length of a great white shark. They lived 40-36 million years ago. They were actually descendants of small, furry land animals. They lived in very deep water, where the bigger prey would live in. They are the biggest whales ever recorded. Even though they were violent and carnivorous, they were very magnificent whales.