Tiny ‘King Tut’ whale ‘lived fast and died fast’ in ancient Egyptian waters

A pint-size whale that lived 41 million years in the past in what’s now Egypt was the smallest of its variety and died younger, main researchers to call it after the traditional Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, who died at age 18.

Referred to as Tutcetus rayanensis, the newly described species of basilosaurid, an extinct household of totally aquatic cetaceans, was the smallest identified basilosaurid whale ever to exist, based on a research revealed Thursday (Aug. 10) within the journal Communications Biology. The traditional whale measured roughly 8 ft (2.5 meters) lengthy and weighed about 412 kilos (187 kilograms) — concerning the measurement of a modern-day grownup tiger (Panthera tigris).