* Astronomy

Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Home -> Astronomy News -> General news -> Fossil Whale
Post Info TOPIC: Fossil Whale
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
RE: Fossil Whale
Permalink  
 

White fossil was 'Moby Dick' of the ancient sea

In Hollywood's version of the events that inspired the classic novel Moby Dick, a giant sperm whale terrorises the crew of a whaling ship and eventually destroys the vessel.
Based on the true story of the sinking of the Essex in 1820, the film, In the Heart of the Sea, portrays the whale as a merciless monster that pushes its shipwrecked victims to the brink of madness.
Did such a terrifying creature ever exist? Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution say it probably did - but 15 million years ago.
Read more



__________________
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Permalink  
 

Chile's stunning fossil whale graveyard explained

It is one of the most astonishing fossil discoveries of recent years - a graveyard of whales found beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile.
And now scientists think they can explain how so many of the animals came to be preserved in one location more than five million years ago.
It was the result of not one but four separate mass strandings, they report in a Royal Society journal.
Read more



__________________
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Herpetocetus
Permalink  
 

Research reveals dwarf whale survived well into Ice Age

University of Otago research detailing the fossil of a dwarf baleen whale from Northern California reveals that it avoided extinction far longer than previously thought.
Otago Department of Geology PhD student Robert Boessenecker has found that the fossil of the 4-5 metre long Herpetocetus, thought to be the last survivor of the primitive baleen whale family called cetotheres, may be as young as 700,000 years old.
Read more



__________________
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Fossil Whale
Permalink  
 

Antarctica's oldest whale fossil

Ett fynd av Antarktis äldsta valfossil visar hur snabbt valarna spred sig över jordens hav för ca 50 miljoner år sedan. Ett käkben med en karakteristiskt taggig valtand gjorde att Naturhistoriska riksmuseets forskare genast kände igen fossilet.
Det var på Seymor Island som forskarna hittade fossilet av en valkäke från Archaeoceti (gruppen "forntida valar").
Read more (Swedish)



__________________
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Permalink  
 

Scientists unearthing major whale fossil hoard in Chile

Scientists are in the process of excavating a desert fossil bed in Chile containing dozens of whole skeletons of ancient whales dating back seven million years.
See more 



__________________
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Aegyptocetus tarfa
Permalink  
 

Ancient Whale Taken Down by Shark, Tooth Marks Reveal

The sharp eyes of an Italian stonecutter were the first to spy a new ancient species of whale 40 million years after it was first encased in stone.
The fossil, of a new ancient whale species called Aegyptocetus tarfa, was found in a block of limestone headed to decorate an Italian building. The stonecutter realised after slicing through the stone block that he was looking at the cross section of a fossilised skull, and he contacted Giovanni Bianucci, a researcher at the University of Pisa, to help identify it.
Read more 



__________________
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
RE: Fossil Whale
Permalink  
 

Ancient whale skulls and directional hearing: A twisted tale

Skewed skulls may have helped early whales discriminate the direction of sounds in water and are not solely, as previously thought, a later adaptation related to echolocation. University of Michigan researchers report the finding in a paper to be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of Aug. 22.
Asymmetric skulls are a well-known characteristic of the modern whale group known as odontocetes (toothed whales). These whales also have highly modified nasal structures with which they produce high-frequency sounds for echolocation - a sort of biological sonar used to navigate and find food. The other modern whale group, mysticetes (baleen whales), has symmetrical skulls and does not echolocate.
Read more



__________________
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Basilosaurus Isis
Permalink  
 

Its name in Arabic is Wadi Hitan but it is known as the Valley of the Whales.
For years archaeologists have been unearthing a remarkable collection of whale fossils, all the more surprising because the area is now inland desert in upper Egypt.
It is believed that about 40 million years ago the area was submerged in water, part of the Tethys Sea. As the sea retreated north to the Mediterranean it left a series of unique rock formations and also a cornucopia of fossils.
Read more

__________________
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Leviathan melvillei
Permalink  
 

Scientists have discovered an ancient whale whose bite ripped huge chunks of flesh out of other whales about 12 million years ago - and they've named it after the author of "Moby Dick."
The prehistoric sperm whale grew to between 13 and 18 meters long, not unusual by today's standards. But unlike modern sperm whales, Leviathan melvillei, named for Herman Melville, sported vicious, tusk-like teeth some 36 centimetres long.
Read more

__________________
Blobrana


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Permalink  
 

'Sea monster' whale fossil unearthed

Researchers have discovered the fossilised remains of an ancient whale with huge, fearsome teeth.
Writing in the journal Nature, the scientists have dubbed the 12 million-year-old creature "Leviathan".
It is thought to have been more than 17m long, and might have engaged in fierce battles with other giant sea creatures from the time.
Leviathan was much like the modern sperm whale in terms of size and appearance.
Read more

__________________
1 2 3 4  >  Last»  | Page of 4  sorted by
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.
Home -> Astronomy News -> General news -> Fossil Whale


Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse 		Powered by ActiveBoard