Basilosaurus

Basilosaurus is a taxonomic genus of whales that is reputed by evolutionists to be lived between 34 and 40 million years ago in Eocene. The American fossils were initially believed to be some sort of reptile, hence the suffix -"saurus", but later found to be a marine mammal.

Features
He displayed an unparalleled degree of elongation compared with modern whales. The Basilosaurus had on average about 18 meters (60 feet) long. The mammal also possessed small, 0.6 meter (2 ft) hind limbs. They were probably used to clasping during copulation.

Criticism
According to paleontologist Barbara Stahl, the serpentine-shaped body and the peculiar shape of the cheek teeth make it clear that these archaeocetes could not have been the ancestor of modern whales. With regard to this transition Barbara Stahl further states that Basilosaurus and its relatives do not display, even in a rudimentary way, evidences of the backward migration of the nostrils on the dorsal surface of the head, the reduction and carried upwards of nasal bones and the expansion of premaxillary and maxillary elements to the rear to cover the original braincase roof. Another problem is that according with National Academy of Sciences publication Basilosaurus was the precursor to modern whales, one of the missing links. However many disagree of this. Among them, Dr. Lawrence Barnes, a whale evolution expert from the National History Museum who does not believe that Basilosaurus was an ancestor to modern whales because this whale lived at the same time as the modern form of whales.