Post by Deinobrontornis on Oct 18, 2011 22:17:58 GMT -5
Blue Whale - Baleneoptera musculus
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales (called Mysticeti). At 30 metres (98 ft) in length and 180 metric tons (200 short tons) or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed.
Long and slender, the blue whale's body can be various shades of bluish-grey dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia of the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda (also known as the pygmy blue whale) found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. B. m. indica, found in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. As with other baleen whales, its diet consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as krill.
Megalodon - Carcachodon megalodon
The megalodon (meaning "big tooth") is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era (late Oligocene to early Pleistocene).
Gottfried and colleagues (1996) also introduced a method to determine the body mass of the great white shark after studying the length–mass relationship data of 175 specimens at various growth stages and extrapolated it to estimate the body mass of C. megalodon. The proposed method is: mass in kilogram = 3.29E−06[TL in (meters)3.174]. According to this model, a 15.9 metres (52 ft) long C. megalodon would have a body mass of about 47 metric tons (52 short tons), a 17 metres (56 ft) long C. megalodon would have a body mass of about 59 metric tons (65 short tons), and a 20.3 metres (67 ft) long C. megalodon would have a body mass of 103 metric tons (114 short tons). Consequently, C. megalodon is regarded as the largest shark ever to have lived, and is among the largest fish known to have existed.
The exceptionally robust teeth of C. megalodon are serrated, which would have improved efficiency in slicing the flesh of prey items. Paleontologist Dr. Bretton K. Kent from University of Maryland suggests that these teeth are comparatively thicker for their size with much lower slenderness and bending strength ratios. They also have roots that are substantially larger relative to total tooth heights, and so have a greater mechanical advantage. Teeth with these traits are not just good cutting tools but also are well suited for grasping powerful prey and would seldom crack even when slicing through bones.
In 2008, a team of scientists led by Dr. Stephen Wroe conducted an experiment to determine the bite force of C. megalodon; results indicate that it had one of the most powerful bites in history. At 15.9 metres (52 ft) long, C. megalodon was capable of exerting a bite force estimated at 108,514 newtons (24,395 lbf), and at 20.3 metres (67 ft) long, C. megalodon was capable of exerting a bite force estimated at 182,201 newtons (40,960 lbf).
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales (called Mysticeti). At 30 metres (98 ft) in length and 180 metric tons (200 short tons) or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed.
Long and slender, the blue whale's body can be various shades of bluish-grey dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia of the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda (also known as the pygmy blue whale) found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. B. m. indica, found in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. As with other baleen whales, its diet consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as krill.
Megalodon - Carcachodon megalodon
The megalodon (meaning "big tooth") is an extinct species of shark that lived roughly from 28 to 1.5 million years ago, during the Cenozoic Era (late Oligocene to early Pleistocene).
Gottfried and colleagues (1996) also introduced a method to determine the body mass of the great white shark after studying the length–mass relationship data of 175 specimens at various growth stages and extrapolated it to estimate the body mass of C. megalodon. The proposed method is: mass in kilogram = 3.29E−06[TL in (meters)3.174]. According to this model, a 15.9 metres (52 ft) long C. megalodon would have a body mass of about 47 metric tons (52 short tons), a 17 metres (56 ft) long C. megalodon would have a body mass of about 59 metric tons (65 short tons), and a 20.3 metres (67 ft) long C. megalodon would have a body mass of 103 metric tons (114 short tons). Consequently, C. megalodon is regarded as the largest shark ever to have lived, and is among the largest fish known to have existed.
The exceptionally robust teeth of C. megalodon are serrated, which would have improved efficiency in slicing the flesh of prey items. Paleontologist Dr. Bretton K. Kent from University of Maryland suggests that these teeth are comparatively thicker for their size with much lower slenderness and bending strength ratios. They also have roots that are substantially larger relative to total tooth heights, and so have a greater mechanical advantage. Teeth with these traits are not just good cutting tools but also are well suited for grasping powerful prey and would seldom crack even when slicing through bones.
In 2008, a team of scientists led by Dr. Stephen Wroe conducted an experiment to determine the bite force of C. megalodon; results indicate that it had one of the most powerful bites in history. At 15.9 metres (52 ft) long, C. megalodon was capable of exerting a bite force estimated at 108,514 newtons (24,395 lbf), and at 20.3 metres (67 ft) long, C. megalodon was capable of exerting a bite force estimated at 182,201 newtons (40,960 lbf).
