Livyatan was a giant prehistoric whale that hunted large prey. Livyatan lived about 10 million years ago, during the Miocene Epoch. Its name is the Hebrew spelling of Leviathan, a sea monster referenced in the Bible. Livyatan was a relative of the sperm whale, the largest living toothed whale. Paleontologists discovered the first Livyatan fossils in 2008, in the South American country of Peru.
Paleontologists estimate that Livyatan could grow to 57 feet (17.5 meters) long. Its head was shorter than that of the modern sperm whale but far more robust. The skull structure of Livyatan suggests that it possessed a large spermaceti organ, as do modern sperm whales. This organ produces a waxy material called spermaceti. Scientists do not yet know the use of spermaceti in either animal.
Unlike the sperm whale, which has teeth that are small and in its lower jaw only, Livyatan had extremely large teeth in both jaws. The largest teeth were 14 inches (36 centimeters) long and 4 ¾ inches (12 centimeters) thick. The teeth of Livyatan were angled outward. This configuration helped it to bite and hold onto the bodies of large prey. Livyatan likely hunted small-to-medium-sized baleen whales—similar to the modern minke whale—which were common during the Miocene.
Livyatan shared the Miocene oceans with sharks, including the giant megalodon. Paleontologists do not yet know if these animals competed for large prey species or occupied separate ecological niches. Paleontologists suspect that changes in climate and in the makeup of Miocene whale communities drove Livyatan to extinction.
