Livyatan

Rare card · No. 46406

Livyatan is an extinct genus of macroraptorial sperm whale, containing one known species: L. melvillei. The genus name was inspired by the biblical sea monster Leviathan, and the species name by Herman Melville, the author of the famous novel Moby-Dick about a white bull sperm whale. Herman Melville often referred to whales as "Leviathans" in his book. It is mainly known from the Pisco Formation of Peru during the Tortonian stage of the Miocene epoch, about 8.9–9.9 million years ago (mya); however, finds of isolated teeth from other locations such as Chile, Argentina, the United States (California), South Africa and Australia imply that either it or a close relative survived into the Pliocene, around 5 mya, and may have had a global presence. The body length of Livyatan melvillei holotype is approximately 13.5–17.5 meters (44–57 ft) long. Comparable to that of the modern sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), making it one of the largest predators known. The teeth of Livyatan measured 36...

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