Dorudon

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Dorudon
Fossil range: Late Eocene

Reconstruction of Dorudon

Conservation status

Extinct (fossil)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Cetacea
Suborder:	Archaeoceti
Family:	Basilosauridae
Subfamily:	Dorudontinae
Genus:	Dorudon

Species

Dorudon atrox

Dorudon was a genus of ancient cetacean that lived alongside Basilosaurus 41 to 33 million years ago, in the Eocene. They were about 5 metres (16 feet) long and were most likely carnivorous, feeding on small fish and mollusks. Dorudontids lived in warm seas around the world, fossils have been found in North America as well as in Egypt were once the Tethys Sea's seabed would have been once.

Dorudontids were originally believed to be baby Basilosaurus as their fossils are exactly alike, only smaller, but have since been shown to be a different species with the discovery of Dorudon calves. Although they look very much like modern whales, basilosaurids and dorudontids lacked the 'melon organ' that allows their descendants to sing and use ultrasound as effectively as modern whales. Like other basilosaurids, their nostrils were midway from the snout to the top of the head. The Dorudon calves would have often fallen prey to hungry Basilosaurus, even though they travelled and hunted in groups with adults.