Giant whale-eating whale discovered

[rpannier]

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.

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The giant 3-meter (10-foot) skull of what's been dubbed Leviathan melvillei (in honor of the author of "Moby Dick") was found with teeth in its top and bottom jaws up to 36 centimeters (14 inches) long. The discovery is reported in the July 1 issue of the journal Nature.

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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.

link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38021150/?gt1=43001

[Silent3]

1. I guess a dog-eat-dog world...

...isn't anywhere near as scary as a whale-eat-whale world.

[Angry Dragon]

2. Hey ....... is that the whale that got Jonah??

[rpannier]

4. I think it's the whale that Jesus rode

There's scant evidence of what Jesus was doing between the ages of 15-30

My theory is, he took the gold, frankincense and myrrh went to Monte Carlo and became a big-time gambler
(After all, as the Son of God, held all the cards)
After that, he joined a water show, where he stunned the crowd by walking on water and riding whales, seahorses, sharks and mermaids

[hlthe2b]

3. It baffles the mind to think of what the oceans must have been like

in that time--not to mention the fight for land among the giant beasts of the time... I just find it almost unfathomable, but truly fascinating.

[Twillig]

5. Makes me wonder if the Kraken actually existed.

Eating other whales and Megalodon could get boring, you know..

It would be cool if they found a giant fossilized squid beak in the excavation!

[flvegan]

6. Megalodon and now Leviathan melvillei. How the oceans must have been.

Monster predators long since gone. And today, we slaughter their descendants for no good reason.

[Skink]

7. Does it eat oil?

[rpannier]

8. I'd be happy if it ate

Oil Executives

[Warren DeMontague]

9. I guess it didn't get the memo.

[blogslut]

10. Big fella