A bizarre prehistoric chain of events was revealed earlier this month when the first complete Basilosaurus whale skeleton was discovered in Egypt's "Valley of the Whales."
The Basilosaurus, which is believed to be the largest known ocean animal from the Late Eocene Period, ate a smaller whale before being eaten by a massive shark, according to Discovery News .
Some are calling it a Russian doll trick.
The larger Basilosaurus whale is reportedly 65 feet long, which means that the shark was huge. Talk about Jaws.
Many remains of sea creatures were discovered by Egypt’s National Fossils Team inside the whale, including fossils of crabs and sawfish, according to independent Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm . Among these sea creatures was the smaller Basilosaurus whale.
But then the discovery of a huge set of shark teeth next to the whale fossils indicated to paleontologists that a massive shark had eaten the two whales.
The Basilosaurus, which means lizard king and was believed to be a reptile when it was first discovered, is different from modern whales. The sea creature had a smaller brain than modern whales, an eel-like body and vertebrae filled with marrow, indicating that it swam at the sea's surface unlike its modern relatives, according to the Daily Mail .
The “Valley of the Whales,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was first discovered by scientists in 1902, is one of the most significant paleontological sites in Egypt.