Team members at Everything Dinosaur are busy preparing for arrival of the latest batch of PNSO prehistoric animals including the PNSO Requena the Livyatan model. With production delays and difficulties with logistics, many companies have struggled to receive stock but plans at Everything Dinosaur are well advanced and a shipment of new PNSO models including the Livyatan figure along with Tucson the Himalayasaurus, Evan the Tylosaurus and the eagerly anticipated Aidan the Cretoxyrhina shark model should be in stock at the end of next month (November 2021).

Livyatan melvillei – Leviathan

Formally named and described in 2010 (Lambert et al), from a partial skull discovered in southern Peru (Pisco Formation) two years earlier, the exact size of this prehistoric whale remains unknown. Based on scaling up the 3-metre-long fossil skull with those of extant Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), palaeontologists have estimated that Livyatan could have been between 13.5 and 18 metres in length.

Not knowing the size of this ancient cetacean has made creating a scale drawing challenging for Everything Dinosaur team members. Male Livyatans were probably considerably larger than females, as seen in Sperm whales today. Bull Sperm whales can be up to 20 metres in length, whilst females rarely exceed 12 metres and these bulls can be up to 3 times heavier.

Livyatan Scale Drawing

After having reviewed the scientific literature, Everything Dinosaur team members have given their illustration of Livyatan melvillei a length of approximately 15 metres.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Everything Dinosaur website: Prehistoric Animal Toys.

Originally named Leviathan melvillei, with the genus name reflecting the biblical sea monster and the species name honouring Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick, it was discovered that the word “Leviathan” was a junior synonym for a Mastodon, so under the rules of scientific nomenclature the genus name was changed. Livyatan is derived from the Hebrew word for the biblical sea monster.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s article from 2010 about the discovery of this prehistoric whale: Nightmare Whale from Prehistory.

Team members are looking forward to receiving the PNSO Requena the Livyatan model in stock next month (November 2021).

To view the range of PNSO prehistoric animal models in stock at Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Prehistoric Animal Models.