Search for the biggest animal to have ever lived on Earth and the internet will tell you it's the Blue Whale. However, scientists may have found a bigger contender that could dethrone the giants of the ocean.
On Wednesday, scientists shared an amazing find. In Peru, they have unearthed the fossil of an early whale called Perucetus colossus. The animal as per estimates lived about 38-40 million years ago during the Eocene epoch and may have even topped the mass of the blue whale which is long considered the heftiest animal on record.
Perucetus colossus
Researchers estimate that the Perucetus colossus was around 66 feet (20 metres long) and weighed up to 340 metric tonnes — this means it was heavier than today's blue whale and even the largest dinosaurs. Hence, the name, which literally means "colossal Peruvian whale".
The findings have been published in the journal Nature.
Lead author of the research, palaeontologist Giovanni Bianucci of the University of Pisa in Italy, as per Reuters remarked: "The main feature of this animal is certainly the extreme weight, which suggests that evolution can generate organisms that have characteristics that go beyond our imagination."
Perucetus, as per estimates, had a minimum mass of 85 tonnes, with an average estimate of 180 tonnes. Although the largest-known blue whale weighed approximately 190 tonnes, it was longer than Perucetus, measuring 110 feet (33.5 metres) in length.
Comparitively, Argentinosaurus, a plant-eating dinosaur that existed around 95 million years ago in Argentina, which as per a study published in May, was perhaps the most massive dinosaur was much smaller at an estimated weight of about 76 tonnes.
Where was the colossal whale found?
The partial skeleton was excavated from a coastal desert of southern Peru. The region, as per Reuters, is rich with whale fossils.
Scientists have as of now excavated with 13 vertebrae, four ribs and one hip bone of Perucetus colossus. The bones were found to be unusually voluminous, and extremely dense and compact. The skeletal mass alone is an estimated five and eight tonnes, which is at least twice that of the blue whale.
However, researchers are yet to stumble upon its cranial or tooth remains. This means we have no idea about its diet or lifestyle. Bianucci suggests that it is possible that this creature was "herbivorous like the sirenians, but this would be the only case among cetaceans. Perhaps it fed on small mollusks and crustaceans in sandy bottoms like the extant gray whale. Or it could have been a scavenger on vertebrate carcasses, similar to some extant large-body sharks."
(With inputs from agencies)
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