Livyatan: Research Database Physeteridae (Raptorial Sperm Whale) · Miocene (~12-13 MYA) · Pisco Formation, Peru
Research Note: Livyatan melvillei was a giant raptorial sperm whale — an apex predator of Miocene seas. Named after the biblical sea monster Leviathan and the novelist Herman Melville (author of Moby Dick), it was one of the largest macroraptorial sperm whales and a dominant marine predator.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery and bite force — named Livyatan melvillei; described from a nearly complete skull and teeth from the Pisco Formation, Peru; bite force estimated at ~31,000 N, among the largest of any known animal; teeth up to 36cm in length; interpreted as an apex predator targeting large prey including baleen whales Foundational paper for Livyatan taxonomy and ecology |
Confirmed | A | 2010 | Fossil | Lambert et al., Nature 160 citations |
Foundational |
| Evolutionary relationships and extinction — phylogenetic analysis places Livyatan within the sperm whale family Physeteridae; clarifies relationships to modern sperm whales and other macroraptorial whales; discusses why macroraptorial sperm whales went extinct while modern sperm whales survived Context for why Livyatan and its kin no longer exist |
Confirmed | A | 2015 | Comparative | Bianucci et al., Journal of Maps 60 citations |
Paleoecology |
Status: Confirmed Direct evidence Debated Counter-studies Grade: A Strong consensus B Single study
Active Debate: Why Did Livyatan Go Extinct?
Why Livyatan and other macroraptorial sperm whales went extinct while the modern sperm whale survived is debated. One hypothesis suggests competition with the modern sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which may have been more efficient at deep diving for squid. Another hypothesis implicates the decline in prey populations due to ocean cooling and changes in marine ecosystems. Most researchers favor a combination of ecological competition and climate-driven prey decline.
What We Still Don’t Know About Livyatan
- Color: Unknown.
- Hunting strategy: Whether it hunted alone or in groups is unknown.
- Diving behavior: How deep it could dive is unknown.
- Prey preferences: Whether it targeted large baleen whales vs. fish vs. squid is debated.
- Geographic range: Only known from Peru so far.
- Echolocation: Whether it used echolocation is debated.
- Social structure: No evidence of pod structure or behavior.
In Depth
When first described the prehistoric whale Livyatan was actually named Leviathan after the biblical sea monster. Unfortunately however Leviathan had already been used to name a mastodon now known as Mammut (Leviathan is actually a synonym to this genus, but still cannot be used). As such the Hebrew word for Leviathan, Livyatan, is now used to refer to this ancient whale. The species name, L. melvillei is in honour of the author Herman Melville, the man who wrote the world famous novel ‘Moby Dick’.
Because only the skull is known, Livyatan is often compared to the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) when piecing together the rest of the body. This has yielded size estimates of thirteen and a half meters which make Livyatan a comparable size to the megatoothed sharks like Carcharocles angustidens. However Livyatan has also been compared to another prehistoric whale named Zygophyseter, and this resulted in an estimate of seventeen and a half meters. If accurate then this would make Livyatan comparable to even C. megalodon, the largest shark to ever swim the ocean. In fact for a time both Livyatan and C. megalodon would have swam in the same oceans.
Not only was Livyatan an apex predator like C. megalodon, it probably fed upon the same prey animals which were medium sized baleen whales. Smaller juvenile Livyatan may have preferred proportionately smaller prey items like the smaller cetaceans or even large fish. With teeth that were thirty-six centimetres long, Livyatan had the dentition to take down large prey items. In fact not only were the teeth of Livyatan considerably larger than C. megalodon teeth, they are considered to be the largest known teeth for the purpose of eating. Granted some animals like elephant have modified teeth that form tusks which are even bigger, but they are useless for processing food in the mouth so in this case they do not count as the largest. Livyatan also had teeth in both the upper and lower jaws for grasping prey (the modern sperm whale, the closest living analogy to Livyatan, only has teeth on the lower jaw).
How Livyatan hunted it still a matter of debate, but given its large mouth and teeth it may have used a similar method to kill smaller whales as C. megalodon did. This could be approaching from the bottom and slamming into its target from underneath. An associated method could also be trapping the smaller whale’s rib cage in its jaws and crushing the ribs to create fatal injuries to the internal organs. Another method could see Livyatan holding down a whale beneath the surface to stop it surfacing for air. This is a strategy that would be potentially risky for Livyatan as it too would still need to surface to breathe air, but assuming Livyatan could hold its breath for longer than its prey, it would still be a viable strategy.
Livyatan is morphologically similar to the modern sperm whale, and this has brought comparisons between the two for head function. Livyatan is thought to have had a spermaceti organ that would have been filled with wax and oil. This has also inferred the possibility that Livyatan may have used echolocation to find its prey.
Further Reading
– Corrigendum: The giant bite of a new raptorial sperm whale from the Miocene epoch of Peru. – Nature 466:1134. – O. Lambert, G. Bianucci, K. Post, C. Muizon, R. Salas-Gismondi, M. Urbina & J. Reumer – 2010. – Distribution of fossil marine vertebrates in Cerro Colorado, the type locality of the giant raptorial sperm whale Livyatan melvillei (Miocene, Pisco Formation, Peru). – Journal of Maps. 12 (3): 543. – G. Bianucci, C. Di Celma, W. Landini, K. Post, C. Tinelli & C. de Muizon – 2015. – First record of a macroraptorial sperm whale (Cetacea, Physeteroidea) from the Miocene of Argentina. – Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia. 21 (3): 276–280. – David Sebasti�n Piazza, Federico Lisandro Agnolin & Sergio Lucero – 2018. – Early Pliocene fossil cetaceans from Hondeklip Bay, Namaqualand, South Africa. – Historical Biology: 1–20. – R. Govender – 2019.
