Ancient whale found in Peru may be heaviest animal in world

[Judi Lynn]

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK AUG 02, 2023 - 9:47 PM GMT+3



Scientists excavate a vertebra fossil of Perucetus colossus, a huge early whale that lived about 38-40 million years ago, in a remote coastal desert in southern Peru, as seen in this undated photograph. (Giovanni Bianucci/Handout via Reuters)

Archaeologists in Peru may have discovered the world’s heaviest animal ever to live, breaking the record of the blue whale.

Researchers described the new species — named Perucetus colossus, or “the colossal whale from Peru” — on Wednesday. Each vertebra weighs over 220 pounds (100 kilograms) and its ribs measure nearly 5 feet (1.4 meters) long.

“It’s just exciting to see such a giant animal that’s so different from anything we know,” said Hans Thewissen, a paleontologist at Northeast Ohio Medical University who had no role in the research.

The bones were first discovered more than a decade ago by Mario Urbina from the University of San Marcos’ Natural History Museum in Lima. An international team spent years digging them out from the side of a steep, rocky slope in the Ica desert, a region in Peru that was once underwater and is known for its rich marine fossils — the results: 13 vertebrae from the whale’s backbone, four ribs and a hip bone.

More:
https://www.dailysabah.com/life/history/ancient-whale-found-in-peru-may-be-heaviest-animal-in-world