It has the biggest bite force estimated for any mammal — ever. Its jaws could crush bones with enough force to lift a Ford F150 extended cab.
Good thing it’s extinct.
But Eric Snively, a paleontologist and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse assistant professor, is alive and well to tell all about the ancient whale, Basilosaurus isis, and its incredible ability to bite. His research on the bite force of the mammal that swam the world’s oceans 34-40 million years ago will be published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. The tentative publication date is set for Wednesday, Feb. 25. The information is embargoed until that time.
Snively wrote the paper with co-authors Julia Fahlke, a postdoctoral fellow at the Museum of Natural History in Berlin, and Robert Welsh, of the University of Michigan, whose scientists excavated and now curate the skull.
The research gives scientists more clues about evolution of whales. An analysis of its bite force shows how whales succeeded at early stages adapting to water using their ability to bite. These ancient whales captured prey in their front teeth, and then crushed and sliced through bones. This set the stage for later evolution of predatory whales — including today’s killer and sperm whales.
Hippos are likely to have the highest absolute bite force of any modern land mammal.
The paper is called “Bone-Breaking Bite Force of Basilosaurus isis (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Late Eocene of Egypt Estimated by Finite Element Analysis.” It will be published at dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118380