Whale fossil dating back thirty-six million years found in Peru

LIMA, PERU - MARCH 23: A Basilosaurus whale fossil dating back 36 million years has been discovered in the Ocucaje desert in the Ica region of Peru. The whale fossil known as Basilosaurus, was discovered at Ocucaje area by Mario Urbina. “It is a primitive cetacean, an animal known by the name of Basilosaurus, perhaps a new species that lived in the seas of Peru, as I say 36 million years ago,” said paleontologist Rodolfo Salas underlining the importance of the discovery. He also stressed that the whales’ skull measures 1.35 meters in length and meaning it reached a length of 12 to 13 meters. “It was one of the largest predators of its time and these animals are known as archaeocytes because they are primitive whales. If you see the skull of these animals, you can see many characteristics of land animals and do not look much like modern cetaceans,” he said. He also noted that the animal helps a lot to understand how the evolution of the cetaceans that now live on earth has been in the past. The discovery is exhibited in the Museum of Natural History in the capital Lima city of Peru. (Footage by Klebher Vasquez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)