Perucetus colossus

Perucetus is an extinct genus of an early whale from Peru that lived during the Bartonian age of the middle Eocene. Perucetus is the largest Eocene whale, with length estimates varying from 15–16 meters (49–52 ft) to 17–20 meters (56–66 ft). It was initially claimed to have rivaled or exceeded the modern blue whale in weight, partly due to the incredibly thick and dense bones this animal possessed, coupled with its already great size, but subsequent studies argued that it was significantly lighter. The ecology of Perucetus also remains largely mysterious. Based on the fossils, it was likely a slow-moving inhabitant of shallow waters. Its diet can only be speculated, but one suggestion proposes that it may have fed on benthic animals like crustaceans and molluscs living on the ocean floor. Only a single species is currently known, P. colossus.

Perucetus colossus

Ivan Iofrida · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
PerucetusPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Cetacea
Life habit
aquatic, depth=surfacePBDB, for Cetacea
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Cetacea
Environment
marinePBDB, for Cetacea

Time the record covers

At most 3.4 million years on record.

The one occurrence read is dated to somewhere between 41.03 Mya and 37.71 Mya, which is a dating window rather than a span.

Eocene — about 1 of 1 occurrenceEocene41–41 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences41–41 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences41–41 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences41–41 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences41–40 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences40–40 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences40–40 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences40–40 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences40–40 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences40–40 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences40–40 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences40–39 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences39–39 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences39–39 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences39–39 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences39–39 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences39–39 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences39–39 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences39–38 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences38–38 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences38–38 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences38–38 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences38–38 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences38–38 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences41.53 Mya37.21 Mya

1 occurrence of Perucetus colossus on record, most of them in the Eocene. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

1 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

1 formation

Paracas — 14.68°S, 75.63°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Perucetus colossus has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed.

Perucetus colossus and its relatives

Eocene

Where Perucetus colossus and its relatives were recorded in the Eocene.

Found in the same rock

No other named taxon is catalogued from that site.

The Paleobiology Database records 1 site for Perucetus colossus, and this reads all of them.

Entered from

1 reference

Each of the 1 occurrence read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. Each entry links to doi.org. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Perucetus colossus

Credit
Ivan Iofrida
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Credit
Major
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itPerucetus through timeFormations of the EoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Bianucci et al. 2023