Giant Whale Fossils Found

The fossilized remains of a giant species of sperm whale have been found in a desert in Peru! The 60-foot (18-meter) giant whale is called Leviathan melvillei after Herman Melville, the author of the novel about a whale called Moby-Dick. A study in Nature says that the whale’s massive teeth may mean that the whale actively hunted other whales and not only eating giant squid, like today’s sperm whale.

Learn more about Leviathan melvillei on National Geographic News.

How much do you know about the largest living species of whale? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!

Illustration by C. Letenneur, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France

Comments

climber
July 8, 2010, 1:50 pm

:O :O :O :O :O OH MY MY LITTLE EYES!
futurenurse8
July 8, 2010, 7:09 pm

That is so freaky and cool.
MKat
July 8, 2010, 8:59 pm

That is sooooooooooooooooooooo cool! I LOVE whales
winterqueen1717
July 9, 2010, 3:34 am

this looks very interesting… i think i’ve played the quiz ur noodle….and made a 60%…..
Anonymous
July 9, 2010, 2:10 pm

Oooh…Could you imagine if that whale-monster was still alive today?
Applequeen5
July 9, 2010, 8:22 pm

coolza!
PurpleAnimalLUV
July 10, 2010, 8:54 am

That’s really creepy and cool. I hope when I’m a Marine Biologist I learn more about species like that and why they went extinct. I agree with said, what if these whales were still alive today? Maybe in the deepest depths of the ocean.
Harini Rao
July 10, 2010, 10:53 am

astonished love national geogaraphic a lot………….
french fries
July 10, 2010, 1:32 pm

I wouldnt like to be near that whale!
adventuregirl23
July 11, 2010, 9:14 am

OH WOW!! that thing must have had a relation with the dinos! i cannot BELIEVE that monster could eat other whales! there is something alive today though the whale-shark.
oinkers105114623
July 11, 2010, 9:50 pm

oh that’s gotta hert
chou
July 12, 2010, 2:27 am

Did you know that the whale you said was not the fericest sea animal then? The most fericest animal than was a plesiosaur cod the Liopleurodon.
mattimatti
July 12, 2010, 1:41 pm

I saw that on Yahoo! News. It’s so cool! And it was nice that they named it after Herman Melfelle. And appropriate too!
climber
July 13, 2010, 6:13 pm

AWZOME
mochachino121
September 6, 2010, 1:40 pm

THAT IS SSSOOO SWEET i would love to find out more i’m such a nerd when it comes to prehistoric animals
animallover123
January 5, 2011, 9:30 pm

The srem whale( just like the whale in the picture) fights with their closes enemy the giant squid. they usually fight in the dephs of the ocean. Something like a killer whale( Shamu, orca).
Tingga
February 3, 2011, 9:50 pm

WOW!…Imagine meeting one of those! I dont think I want to meet one.
sembalion
March 28, 2011, 12:13 pm

cool,but how where they found in the desert if they were sea creatures???
racer
July 2, 2011, 11:59 am

looks awsom.
Marvin W
October 18, 2011, 7:12 am

This is an astonishing Science trivia! The word ‘giant’ in discovery world is one of the most captivating adjective in which the subject always comes to be the cup of tea of the Science enthusiasts. Let me share to you this related story. A so-called scared man was uncovered in upstate New York in 1869. Due to its 10-foot-4-inch prominence, the figure became called the Cardiff Giant. The “Giant” became a media beloved, even after it was revealed to be a scam. An artist in New York has rebuilt the model and promises to recreate the situation. Source for this article: The Cardiff Giant rises again in Syracuse
angrybirdsrock
November 23, 2011, 6:22 pm

that sperm whale is so Kool witha capital K and yet Kreepy with a Kapital K at the same time
fly 81
March 2, 2012, 10:02 am

i like this whale
fly 81
March 2, 2012, 10:02 am

i like this whale
barnowl24601
October 27, 2012, 10:02 pm

THAT’S ENOURMOUS! im pretty sure that whale it’s attaking is meant to be a blue whale, just to show how big they really were!