SEA MONSTERS!

[Cajungal]

This is... freakin awesome.

BBC News - 'Sea monster' whale fossil unearthed

Researchers have discovered the fossilised remains of an ancient whale with huge, fearsome teeth.

Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists have dubbed the 12 million-year-old creature "Leviathan".

It is thought to have been more than 17m long, and might have engaged in fierce battles with other giant sea creatures from the time.

Leviathan was much like the modern sperm whale in terms of size and appearance.

There is a BAD ASS picture on the page!

 

[Jay]

 

[Calleja]

Oh come on, they're calling it Leviathan when it's the size of a sperm whale? I mean, I know that's BIG, but it's not even Blue Whale big... certainly not LEVIATHAN BIG.

 

[Cajungal]

Did you look at the picture?! It's cool!

 

[checkeredhat]

I too am disappointed in the relatively small size of this new whale. By whale standards I mean. And by prehistoric standards, you expect it to be even bigger.

I was hoping for something that would be to Megalodon as a Sperm Whale is to a Great White.

 

[Cajungal]

Y'all have no appreciation for the discovery of something that is essentially Monstro from Pinocchio.

 

[Calleja]

dude, monstro in pinoccio was described like a KILOMETER LONG.. that's like... 10 blue whales. So, like, 20 of these leviathan things?

 

[Cajungal]

But he's as mean as Monstro was.

 

[Calleja]

Killer Whales/Orcas are much, much meaner. Believe me.

 

[Cajungal]

....I just think whales are cool.

 

[ThatNickGuy]

Well, screw you, guys. I think it looks damn cool and badass.

 

[Wasabi Poptart]

Wow!

 

[Cajungal]

^_^ Yaaaay, it IS cool. My enthusiasm is validated!

I admit it's not as cool as if it was bigger or something, but I love learning new stuff about big ocean creatures. So cool.

 

[Zarvox]

This is some of the worst science reporting I've seen in a long-ass time. They describe the skull as being 3m long, which would make the 'prey' whale in the picture about 5m. That's the size of a Beluga whale, not a baleen whale like the one in the picture. Which means that the picture is a load of bunk, making you think leviathan is some big momma, instead of being about the size of a bus and a half. Then they go on to talk about the behavior of the dead whale - behavior doesn't fossilize. They're talking out their asses. Plus some of the inanities at the end are infuriating. They're all whale experts? What a shocker, whale experts publishing a paper about whales. I would have thought for sure they'd be economists, not whale experts.

But what really gets me is that they stole the name Leviathan. In ten years, when we discover something really awesome, that totally deserves the name, and they won't be able to use it, because it was taken.

 

[sixpackshaker]

Leviathan melvillei, named for Melville. Kinda cool.

Giant predatory whale named for 'Moby Dick' author - Yahoo! News

 

[ThatNickGuy]

I admit it's not as cool as if it was bigger or something

Sounds like my prom night?

 

[Cajungal]

I admit it's not as cool as if it was bigger or something

Sounds like my prom night?[/QUOTE]

Nick, you.... :hug: I love you.

 

[Gusto]

 

[Hylian]

I for one welcome our (probably) extinct sea monster overlords

 

[Calleja]

I always liked Bartleby the Scrivener better.

 

[Cajungal]

"I would prefer not to." Great story.

 

[Philosopher B.]

I found a sea monster just the other day ... in my pants. :smug:

I told it to go away and leave me alone.

 

[drawn_inward]

We're gonna need a bigger boat!

 

[Cajungal]

A bigger boat that's fucking-large-frightening-teeth-proof.

 

[drawn_inward]

A bigger boat that's fucking-large-frightening-teeth-proof.

I want to stop hearing about the possible giant, swallow-you-whole monsters that could be lurking out in the ocean. I already hear the Jaws theme when I get in deep-end of the pool.

 

[Hylian]

 

[Philosopher B.]

OHSHEET.

 

[drawn_inward]

Hylian! :'(

That's it. Not getting in the tub tonight either. I may not be able to wash the dishes either.

 

[Cajungal]

Hylian! :'(

That's it. Not getting in the tub tonight either. I may not be able to wash the dishes either.

Anyone want a glass of suspicious-looking water??

 

[drawn_inward]

Hylian! :'(

That's it. Not getting in the tub tonight either. I may not be able to wash the dishes either.

Anyone want a glass of suspicious-looking water??[/QUOTE]

:rip:

 

[Philosopher B.]

I actually caught a shark once. A tiny little bastard.

 

[IronBrig4]

Avast! To your stations and run out the guns! Here be monsters!

 

[General Specific]

This is some of the worst science reporting I've seen in a long-ass time. They describe the skull as being 3m long, which would make the 'prey' whale in the picture about 5m. That's the size of a Beluga whale, not a baleen whale like the one in the picture. Which means that the picture is a load of bunk, making you think leviathan is some big momma, instead of being about the size of a bus and a half. Then they go on to talk about the behavior of the dead whale - behavior doesn't fossilize. They're talking out their asses. Plus some of the inanities at the end are infuriating. They're all whale experts? What a shocker, whale experts publishing a paper about whales. I would have thought for sure they'd be economists, not whale experts.

But what really gets me is that they stole the name Leviathan. In ten years, when we discover something really awesome, that totally deserves the name, and they won't be able to use it, because it was taken.

 

[Allen who is Quiet]

I can't see monsters!

 

[bhamv3]

I remember when I went scuba diving in Thailand, my instructor suddenly stopped me, wrote on his pad "school of barracuda" and pointed above us.

Now, having learned from popular culture that barracuda are predatory fish that are just below sharks in the underwater oh-shit scale, I immediately whirled around and stared upwards and saw these itsy bitsy six inch fish that were far more scared of me than I was of them. To be fair, though, there were more of them than there was of me.