Paleontologists in Peru have unearthed the skull of a marine predator that lived around 36 million years ago. The ocean through which the animal once swam no longer exists today.
LIMA – Scientists have found the fossilized remains of a primeval whale in a desert in Peru. The approximately 36-million-year-old and well-preserved skull was excavated from rocks in the southern Ocucaje desert last year. In prehistoric times, this part of present-day Peru was still covered by an ocean. Last week, the researchers presented the fossil at the Natural History Museum in Lima.
Specifically, the whale ancestor is a “Basilosaurus,” as Rodolfo Salas, head of paleontology at the National University of San Marcos in Peru, explained at a press conference. In addition to whales, the descendants of the Basilosaurus also include dolphins and porpoises. Basilosaurus means “king lizard”. The name comes from the fact that when researchers first discovered its fossils, they thought they had found dinosaur bones. Only later did they find out that it was a mammal.
“Sea monster” Basilosaurus was possibly twelve meters long
According to estimates, the former predator was around twelve meters long, which is roughly the height of a four-story building. “The Basilosaurus was a sea monster,” said Salas. “He must have done a lot of damage in search of his food.”
Salas explained that when ancient Basilosaurus died, its skull likely sank to the bottom of the sea, where it was quickly buried and preserved. “In that era, the conditions for this in Ocucaje were very good,” says the expert.
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