Zygophyseter
Name:
Zygophyseter.
Phonetic: Zig-oh-fy-se-ter.
Named By: Bianucci & Landini - 2006.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Cetacea,
Physeteroidea.
Species: Z. varolei (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Approximately 7 meters long.
Known locations: Italy.
Time period: Tortonian stage of the Miocene of the
Neogene.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skeleton.
Zygophyseter
was a raptorial sperm whale
that is sometimes called the 'killer
sperm whale'. Discovered in southern Italy, Zygophyseter
is
confirmed to have been active in the Paratethys Sea which today is
represented by the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian and Aral Seas.
However back in the Miocene the sea levels were much higher which
means
that the Paratehys Sea submerged a much larger area than the these seas
do today. This resulted in much of mainland Europe being turned into
a chain of islands, with a direct seaway connection between Europe
and
the Indian Ocean.
Zygophyseter
was almost certainly a powerful predator, and had teeth in both the
upper and lower jaws. This is a seemingly common trait in large
prehistoric predatory whales that has not been passed onto today’s
large species like the sperm whale which only has teeth in the lower
jaw. The teeth of Zygophyseter were also
conical, sharp and rooted
deep into the jaw. These are the hallmarks of a predator that tackles
large and powerful prey that would damage the jaws and teeth of a
lesser hunter.
Study
of the skull has also revealed that Zygophyseter
had a spermaceti
organ, a part that would be filled with oil and wax. The structure
of this organ is believed to have provided Zygophyseter
with the
ability to use echolocation, making prey acquisition much easier.
This organ is also what gives modern cetaceans their 'domed' or
'box-head' head shape, and in Zygophyseter the
jaws seem to have
extended out from underneath this area giving Zygophyseter
a bottlenose
appearance.
Zygophyseter
was used to work out the size of another but larger predatory
prehistoric whale named Livyatan
which is known only from a skull.
Further reading
- Killer sperm whale: a new basal physeteroid (Mammalia, Cetacea) from
the Late Miocene of Italy - Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society
148:103-131 - G. Bianucci & W. Landini - 2006.
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