Prehistoric sperm whale skull unearthed in Peru's Ocucaje Desert
A team of Peruvian paleontologists has recently unearthed the skull of a prehistoric sperm whale in the Ocucaje Desert, Peru. The complete skull, with its teeth and jaws, had lain in this desert area for around 7 million years.
The sperm whale skull found in the Ocucaje Desert, Peru.
According to researcher Aldo Benites-Palomino, the powerful teeth and jaws of the newly excavated skull suggest that ancestors of sperm whales may have eaten prey other than squid and small fish.
"This is the best-preserved skull of its kind known in the world so far. Fossils of these animals have been found across the oceans for more than 150 years. But almost everything discovered before has been just teeth or other very small fragments.
Since 2008, we have been working specifically on this group in the Ocucaje Desert, and we have found several species, but the specimen behind me is the finest example of this animal we have to date. This animal is extremely interesting because, unlike today's sperm whales, which feed only on squid or small fish, it had all the features of a predator, with a very powerful bite and highly developed teeth."
According to the researchers, the newly excavated skull, which is 1.3 meters long, belonged to an adult sperm whale estimated to have measured 5 to 5.5 meters in length. The skull will be displayed at the Natural History Museum in Lima, Peru.
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