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Zygorhiza is known from Priabonian sediments. Dorudon is also more widespread globally in both time and geographic range. Of the two, Zygorhiza is more delicate, more gracile in its bone structure and Dorudon is sturdier, more robust and massive in its structure. This basic tooth arrangement served many species of early whales for more than 10 million years. They possessed forward spike-like teeth for seizing prey, large rear triangular teeth for shearing prey into manageable portions powerful teeth and jaws, capable of shearing through shell at need.

Like all of the basilosaurids, both Dorudon and Zygohiza were well equipped for hunting the fertile Eocene seas. They were among the first fluked whales and capable swimmers. Two of the genera in the large basilosaurid family are Dorudon and Zygorhiza, closely related whales who even shared a sea though they to preferred different environments within that Southeastern sea.īoth tended towards 5 meters or 16 feet in length with big skulls a meter long. The reclassification rests on the lower molars and robust elements of the skeleton. Mark Uhen, an expert in whale evolution from George Mason University and the display is in the process of being corrected. This error was only recently revealed by Dr. It has an interesting history including thirty-plus years mistakenly displayed as Zygorhiza kochii. Ziggy is as articulated Dorudon serratus. Ziggy, the fossilized whale on permanent display at the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Macon is one of the more famous whales which hunted Georgia’s sea 33.5 million years ago. Before the modern toothed and baleen whales there were the diverse basilosaurids and they too hunted the sea which covered South Georgia 34 million years ago, and more.

The fertile seas of Georgia have known whales for as long as fully marine whales have existed.