Since ya'll kinda get gypped on Wednesdays with the "What Is It?"
challenge, I decided that, when I do do the challenge, I will also
include a "Top Ten" list. I mean, come on now, who doesn't like lists?
I know some of my friends would be absolutely and completely lost
without them! So for today's "Top Ten," we are going to take a look at
some of the world's most amazing, extinct sea monsters. This is also up
for debate, so if you disagree, just give me a holler! Also, they are
not in any particular order, I just kind of threw them all in there! So
without further ado, here we go, with our "Top Ten: Extinct Sea
Monsters!"
1. Megalodon - This gigantic relative of
the extant great white shark was thought to be simply massive: perhaps
even sixty feet in length! Living the world over, Megalodon stalked the
seas during the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs, and only died out during
the current Pleistocene Epoch, around two million years ago. It is
thought that Megalodon evolved to such gigantic proportions in order to
be able to attack the massive whales that had started to evolve in the
cooler seas of the Miocene and Pliocene. Remember now: if it's a shark, then it's a fish!
 |
| A tooth fragment from Megalodon at this excellent restaurant called The Crab Shack on Tybee Island off of the coast of Savannah, Georgia. |
2.
Basilosaurus - A massive, predatory whale (and, therefore, a mammal)
that cruised the seas in the Late Eocene Epoch, 40 to 34 MYA, fossil
discoveries of this massive animal were reportedly so common in the
southern United States during the early 19th century, that bones of
Basilosaurus would be used as furniture! It was first discovered in Louisiana, and is the state fossil of both Mississippi and Alabama.
Basilosaurus has also been found in Egypt and Pakistan. At around sixty feet in length, the same estimated length of Megalodon,
Basilosaurus is thought to have been the biggest creature alive at the time.
COMING UP:
3. Liopleurodon
4. Shonisaurus
5. Elasmosaurus
6. Dunkleosteus
7. Archelon
8. Leedsichthys
9. Tanystropheus
10. Tylosaurus
This post is part of the "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters" series. For the rest of the posts in this series, click
HERE.
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