ALABAMA, USA

Mistaken for a sea lizard in the early 19th century, the early whale was given the name Basilosaurus (King Lizard). The famed anatomist, and later Director of the Natural History Museum in London Richard Owen (1804-1892) recognised the teeth were more mammalian than reptilian and placed the fossil in its correct class. A complete specimen would measure over 60 feet in length, making this fossil the largest animal of the Eocen ocean.