2.6" Archaeocete (Primitive Whale) Tooth - Basilosaur

This
Artists reconstruction of a group of Basilosaurs.
Artists reconstruction of a group of Basilosaurs.
is a 2.6" long tooth from a Basilosaurid, a type of Archaeocete (primitive whale). These rare teeth come from the Late Eocene aged deposits in the Western Sahara near Dakhla, Morocco and are associated with teeth of the shark Auriculatus, a Megalodon ancestor. My best research indicates the most likely species is the Basilosaur, Zygorhiza kochii, but I'm leaving a question mark on that because it's not definitive.

These teeth are nearly always found fractured and require repair work. The tip of this tooth is broken off and there are some repairs and gap fills in the root.

Basilosaurids
A cast of a Basilosaurus jaw showing the varying tooth shapes in the jaw.
A cast of a Basilosaurus jaw showing the varying tooth shapes in the jaw.
could reach gigantic sizes with some species reaching nearly 60 feet in length. It is believed that they fed exclusively on fish and sharks, and had a mouth full of teeth optimized for catching and chewing this prey. The front teeth in the jaw were pointed for catching and holding fish while they had very uniquely shaped, double rooted molars for chewing.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Unidentified Basilosaur
LOCATION
Dakhla, Western Sahara, Morocco
SIZE
2.6" long
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#36135
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