Although maturity is difficult to determine in fossil, Antar and colleagues note several factors observed in Tutcetus that give clues to the animal's age at the time of its death .

[1] According to the Bayesian tip-dating analysis conducted for Tutcetus, Basilosauridae was a paraphyletic clade that included both traditional basilosaurids as well as all modern whale groups (Mysticeti and Odontoceti).

Within this group, termed the Tutcetus-clade by Antar et al., Tutcetus was found to be most closely related to Ocucajea, with Chrysocetus having diverged before the split between the other two.

[1] Eocetus Chrysocetus Ocucajea Tutcetus rayanensis Zygorhiza Saghacetus Ancalecetus Basilosaurus Dorudon Pontogeneus peruvianus Supayacetus Pachycetus paulsonii Pachycetus wardii Antaecetus aithai Neoceti Mohamed Antar, Abdullah Gohar, Hesham Sallam and colleagues note that, beyond determining the age at which the animal died, the pattern of tooth replacement seen in Tutcetus may also give additional clues to how the animal lived.

They argue that the inferred low lifespan of Tutcetus, combined with its diminutive size, indicate that it was a precocial animal that grew quicker and died younger than the larger basilosaurids of its time.

[1] The deposits in which Tutcetus was found in match the type of warm, shallow, tropical waters that whales will seek out as calving grounds, with authors suggesting that the locality represents just that.

Antar and colleagues note that the stage of tooth replacement during which the holotype specimen of Tutcetus died might suggest that the species had a relatively younger infant mortality rate compared to the much better sampled Dorudon.

[1] Another aspect of Tutcetus' biology briefly explored in the type description is the relation between its environment and its small body size.