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Published: 2023-08-05 04:49:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 2213; Favourites: 23; Downloads: 0
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JUST WOW!!!It seems that the blue whale was not the only largest animal to have inhabited the oceans.
A few days ago, scientists announced the discovery of fossils of a whale in Peru, whom they named Perucetus.
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is no longer unarguably the heaviest animal that ever lived. A newly described fossilized whale called Perucetus colossus, thought to date to about 38 million years ago, could have been heavier than a blue whale, even if it wasn't quite as long.
Perucetus colossus weighed between 85 and 340 tons, according to the scientists who found and described the remains: 13 vertebrae, 4 ribs, and a bit of pelvis... Their best estimate is that the whale weighed around 180 tons.
The team reconstructed a model of what the complete skeleton might have looked like by comparing the bones to those of similar species living at the time. The researchers then determined that the fossil belonged to a new species of whale, which they named Perucetus colossus. Based on the closely related ancient whale Cynthiacetus peruvianus, they suggest that it had a small head relative to its massive body. This animal belonged to the Basilosaurid family, of the Archaeoceti suborder.
Wow, what an amazing find, along with the giant marine reptiles, I hope future discoveries will reveal more fossil carcasses of marine animals hidden underground.