edHelper.com Animal Themes Prehistoric Mammals Theme Unit

Sea Serpents or Ancient Whales?

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Sea Serpents or Ancient Whales?
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 3 to 5
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.01

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		balochistnensis, blowhole, carving, cone-shaped, lion-like, serpent, snake-like, status, stubby, toothy, triangular, wedge-shaped, whale-like, white-capped, mammal, snout
	content words:		Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Hans Egede, Late Eocene, And Basil, United States, Some Southerners, Wouldn't Basil, Senate Resolution

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Sea Serpents or Ancient Whales? By Colleen Messina

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¹     In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert thought he saw a lion-like sea monster with glaring eyes. Later, Hans Egede from Denmark said that he saw a terrible sea creature that had a sharp snout and ugly, wrinkled skin. The black creature fell backwards into the sea, and its snake-like body writhed in the white-capped waves. It was as long as the ship!
 
²     Seamen have told stories about sea serpents for centuries. Did they ever exist? About 45 million years ago, a creature that looked like a monster lived in the prehistoric sea. Sailors would probably rather walk the plank than face this frightening creature! Scientists have called this odd mammal an ancient whale.
 
³     This ancient whale had a big name: Rodhocetus balochistnensis. Let's just call her Rhoda for short. She lived in the warm, shallow seas of the Late Eocene period. Rhoda was about 9 feet long. She had four stubby legs. Her ankles and webbed toes made her a good swimmer. She may have been able to slide over land like a modern seal, but scientists don't know that for sure. Her jaws had many sharp teeth. Could she spread them wide in a toothy grin if she scared a sailor? Probably not, even though it is a fun idea.

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