Real Moby Dick Discovered

Experts have identified a new species of huge prehistoric killing sperm whale after the recent discovery of fossilized remains of a gigantic creature, which was over 60ft long with a ten foot head and huge teeth, were found off the coast of Peru.

These mammals, which roamed the Prehistoric seas more than 12 million years ago, had teeth more than 14 inches long and could swallow a man whole. It is the largest fossil sperm whale ever found and would have had the biggest bite of any creature ever on earth.

The new species which is thought to have been driven to extinction by climate change, has been called Leviathan melvillei, after Herman Melville, the author of the classic novel Moby Dick.

The Natural History Museum in Rotterdam will exhibit reconstructions of the sea monster later this year.

DID YOU KNOW?

That whales are split in to two groups? One group, which includes Sperm Whales and Killer Whales have teeth and the other group consists of Blue and Humpbacked Whales and are called Baleen whales that have baleen plates instead of teeth, which they use to filter small particles of food. Baleen is a sieve-like device made of keratin, like our fingernails, and is edged with hairy plates that filter krill (tiny crustaceans) and plankton (small animals and plants that float with ocean currents).