Q:   We know that predatory sharks once came in a much larger size (megalodon). But do we have any evidence of the prehistoric existence of an outrageously large whale?
— M.K.
A:   This one is easy. The answer is no. The largest whale ever to have lived is the blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, and it is alive today. No fossil whales that we know of are as large as the blue whale.

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Q:   If Basilosaurus is a type of extinct whale, why does it have the name "King Lizard?"
A:   An excellent question. The name Basilosaurus was applied to a fossil found in Louisiana because at the time, the person describing it thought it was a giant sea reptile of some sort. Later, when it was discovered that the animal was actually a mammal, someone else tried to change the name, but according to the naming rules, once you have a name on an animal, you are stuck with it, no matter how inappropriate it is.

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Q:   How do you find out what a prehistoric creature ate or what ate it?
— Mar
A:   The first thing that we do to figure out what an animal ate is to look at their teeth. If we look at animals today, we see that animals that eat meat have triangular, blade-like teeth, and animals that eat plants have rectangular, bumpy or ridged teeth. We can also look at the way the teeth are worn to find out about how they used their teeth, which can often tell us more about diet. Lastly, sometimes we get stomach contents preserved along with the skeletons of prehistoric animals. In fact, we have found the stomach contents of both Basilosaurus and Dorudon, and we know that both ate a variety of fish.

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