Analysis of its fossilized stomach contents suggests that Basilosaurus isis, an ancient whale that could grow to more than 50 feet long, swam at the top of the food chain and took its prey by the head. The new findings challenge previous suggestions that the formidable animal was a scavenger and suggest instead that it may have had orca-like behavior.
B. isis, one of two Basilosaurus species, has been found across North Africa, including in Egypt’s famously fossiliferous Valley of Whales (Wadi Al Hitan), where more than a hundred individuals have been excavated. The animal has provided researchers with a wealth of information, from estimations of its bite force (impressive) to analysis of its vestigial hind limbs (puny but significant…they’ve helped us understand how whales, originally land mammals, returned to the sea).
One thing paleontologists have puzzled over, however, is the animal’s feeding behavior. While its sheer size and toothy ...
