Illustration of Janjucetus hunderi.
Image: Carl Buell
Source: Carl Buell
Skull of Janjucetus hunderi.
Image: Rodney Start
Source: Museum Victoria
Teeth detail of Janjucetus hunderi.
Image: Rodney Start
Source: Museum Victoria
Janjucetus was a small whale that lived around 25 million years ago off the Victorian coast. It hunted large fish for food, gripping them between its sharp teeth with the help of powerful jaw muscles.
Despite having fearsome teeth, the skull bones of Janjucetus show that it was in fact a very primitive baleen whale – but without baleen. Janjucetus is therefore a vivid evolutionary link between ancient whales and the modern Blue Whale.