Fossil cetaceans misidentified as reptiles

Basilosaurus (meaning "king lizard") is a genus of large, predatory, prehistoric archaeocete whale from the late Eocene, approximately 41.3 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). First described in 1834, it was the first archaeocete and prehistoric whale known to science. Fossils attributed to the type species B. cetoides were discovered in the southeastern United States. The generic name, meaning "king lizard", was given due to the initial misconception about the fossil material as that of a giant reptile. The animal was later found to be an early marine mammal, prompting attempts at renaming the c

Squalodon is an extinct genus of whales of the Oligocene and Miocene epochs, belonging to the family Squalodontidae. Named by Jean-Pierre Sylvestre de Grateloup in 1840, it was originally believed to be an iguanodontid dinosaur but has since been reclassified. The name Squalodon comes from Squalus, a genus of shark. As a result, its name means "shark tooth". Its closest modern relatives are the 2 species of the genus Platanista ( the Ganges river dolphin and Indus river dolphin).