Livyatan

Translingual

†Livyatan melvillei skull
†Livyatan melvillei life restoration
Size comparison (†Livyatan melvillei in blue, and Physeter macrocephalus in gray)

Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew לווייתן (livyatán), named after the biblical sea monster. This sole species in this genus (†Livyatan melvillei) was originally assigned the name †Leviathan melvillei, but Leviathan was already a junior synonym of †Mammut, so authors rectified this situation by using the original Hebrew name instead.

Proper noun

†Livyatan

  1. A taxonomic genus within the superfamily Physeteroidea – currently contains only one species, a gigantic predatory sperm whale, that might have interacted with the megalodon, competing with it for food.

Usage notes

  • This genus is not yet placed in a family.

Hyponyms

References

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