Whales used to be assassins that hunted sharp teeth like lions

The big and gentle whale used to be dangerous predators with sharp teeth.

Australian scientists discovered that the ancestors of today's large and gentle blue whales were dangerous hunters who could catch and kill prey with sharp teeth, according to the International Business Times.

Baleen whales are one of the largest animals in the ocean. They include blue whales, southern bull whales, humpback whales and some others. They eat by using long fibers in their mouths, called baleen horns , to filter small animals like mollusks.

Blue whales eat small animals in the sea.(Video: Stanford University).

This method makes baleen whales become one of the most effective eating animals on Earth, helping blue whales achieve impressive body sizes. However, scientists still do not understand the evolutionary mechanism that makes this effective system.

The most common hypothesis about the process of whale teeth evolving into a horned whale is that the ancient whale's teeth form a zig-zag type that allows hard teeth to function similarly to sieve functions filter.

However, Australian scientists deny this theory. When conducting 3D sweeps of whale fossil Janjucetus , an extinct blue whale, at the Victoria Museum and Monash University, scientists found that their teeth could not play such a role.

"The results for the first time show that the ancient baleen whales have extremely sharp teeth with the sole function of cutting off prey," Erich Fitzgerald, senior manager of the bone-bearing ancient organism. live at the Victoria Museum.

Functional horns help whales filter food efficiently.(Photo: Alchetron).

"Contrary to what many people think, whales have never used their teeth as a screening element. Their characteristic food filtration technique has evolved later, perhaps when the teeth completely disappear" , he added. This is very similar to behavior in today's toothed whales, such as killer whales.

The teeth of the ancient horned whale teeth were as sharp as those on the ground predators."We were surprised to find Janjucetus teeth as sharp as those of African lions , " the Guardian quoted Fitzgerald.