Perucetus

Perucetus Temporal range: Bartonian 39.8–37.84 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ [1]
Holotype skeletal drawing of Perucetus colossus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	†Basilosauridae
Genus:	†Perucetus Bianucci et al., 2023
Type species
†Perucetus colossus Bianucci et al., 2023

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 measuring about 17–20 meters (56–66 ft) long. Some researchers claim that it may 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, while others argue that it was much lighter.^[2] 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.