In Peru, skull of ‘marine monster’ points to fearsome ancient predator
- The roughly 36-million-year-old skull belonged to an ancient ancestor of modern-day whales which once lived in a prehistoric ocean that covered part of what is now Peru
- Scientists think the ancient mammal was a basilosaurus, part of the aquatic cetacean family, whose contemporary descendants include whales, dolphins and porpoises
Palaeontologists have unearthed the skull of a ferocious marine predator, an ancient ancestor of modern-day whales, which once lived in a prehistoric ocean that covered part of what is now Peru, scientists announced on Thursday.
The roughly 36-million-year-old well-preserved skull was dug up intact last year from the bone-dry rocks of Peru’s southern Ocucaje desert, with rows of long, pointy teeth, Rodolfo Salas, chief of palaeontology at Peru’s National University of San Marcos, told reporters at a news conference.
Scientists think the ancient mammal was a basilosaurus, part of the aquatic cetacean family, whose contemporary descendants include whales, dolphins and porpoises.
Basilosaurus means “king lizard,” although the animal was not a reptile, though its long body might have moved like a giant snake.
The one-time top predator likely measured some 12 metres (39ft) long, or about the height of a four-storey building.
“It was a marine monster,” said Salas, adding the skull, which has already been put on display at the university’s museum, may belong to a new species of basilosaurus.