Balena - Dente fossile - Basilosaurus - 15 cm - 3 cm

→15 cm long Basilosaurus canine teeth measured at the outer curved surface
→12.6 cm long Basilosaurus canine teeth measured end to end.
→3 cm wide at the widest point
→84 grams weight

It is a very interesting and cool fossil revealing the unique curve of the front canine of Basilosaurus. The front incisors were more curved and less thicker than canines. The canines have less curvature & are more thicker compared to incisors. The reason being the fact that canines should more firmly hold onto to prey while delivering fatal puncture wounds.

The presented fossil root is light cream colored with yellow tone to it while the crown of the teeth is in characteristic chocolate color which is common color in Basilosaurus fossils from Morocco. This canine is representation of how big these archaeocetes whales were and were top predators of the oceans particularly near the shallow regions.
Small but necessary amount of restoration material is added in the root of the tooth to make it long lasting and the teeth is professionally conserved as well. Overall the teeth is in very robust and excellent shape. As seen in few photos, the canine looks like a jumping whale, making it very cool and reminding of iconic Basilosaurus.

The Basilosaurus had front incisors then came canines and then pre-molar and finally the molars towards the end of the jaw. All those teeth showed variation as we travel along the length of the jaw as Basilosauridae exhibited prominent heterodonty. (Heterodonty means multiple types of teeth with different shapes and functions, such as incisors, canines, premolars, and molars).

While Durodon preyed on smaller fish and other near shore marine creatures, the larger Basilosaurus was a formidable hunter reaching length upto 20 meters (66 feet) and capable of taking down large prey with tremendous bite force. One of the favourite prey of Basilosaurus was Durodon as well.

Please refer to detailed photos for reference. Different photos have been provided to give an idea about the shape,size, color and other features of the fossil.