Archaeoceti
 From: http://members.tripod.com/Dolphinity/archaeocetitekst.htm
The Archaeoceti, as their
name implies, are the oldest group and consequently the most primitive
in their structure. They flourished during the Eocene epoch, but
most of them were extinct before the end of the Oligocene. A few
species survived into the early Miocene.
Their teeth are completely different from those of modern whales
for they are heterodont.
Basilosaurus is one of the most common of the primitive whales,
called "archaeocetes" by
paleontologists, that have found in exposures of Middle to Upper
Eocene, 35 to 40 million year old, marine sediments within central
Louisiana. The species of Basilosaurus found in Louisiana, Basilosaurus
cetoides (Owen), had a stream-lined body that averaged 45 to 70
feet in length. Its body looked more like the body of a mythical
sea-serpent
rather then the body of a modern whale. Basilosauru had a wedged-shaped
head up to 5 feet long with jaws containing two types of teeth.
The teeth in the front, anterior, of the jaw had cone-shaped teeth
which
caught and held its prey while triangular-shaped teeth in the rear,
posterior, of the jaw sliced them up. The type and amount of wear
on the teeth of the Basilosaurus indicates that it likely ate fish
and squid (Johnston 1991 Carpenter and White 1986). |
