Dinosaurs & Prehistory - Prehistoric marine predators - Basilosaurus - Prehistoric marine life - Eocene
Despite its misleading name, what was Basilosaurus actually?
Correct!
Basilosaurus was not a dinosaur or a marine reptile, but an extinct early whale. The name means “king lizard” and goes back to the fact that the animal was initially misinterpreted as a huge reptile. The University of Michigan describes Basilosaurus as an early relative of today's whales. It lived in the Eocene, about 35 to 40 million years ago, and was already fully adapted to life in water. Its tiny hind limbs are particularly exciting. They were unable to carry a body on land, but still show a connection to land-dwelling whale ancestors. With its very elongated body, Basilosaurus was also a large predatory whale and was one of the most conspicuous marine predators of its time.
Despite its name, Basilosaurus was a previously extinct whale and therefore a mammal, not a dinosaur or marine reptile.
