Australian scientists have discovered a razor-toothed whale that prowled the seas 26 million years ago, yesterday saying the species was “deceptively cute,” but a fearsome predator.
Museums Victoria pieced together the species from an unusually well-preserved skull fossil found on Victoria’s Surf Coast in 2019. Scientists discovered a “fast, sharp-toothed predator” that would have been about the size of a dolphin.
“It’s essentially a little whale with big eyes and a mouth full of sharp, slicing teeth,” researcher Ruairidh Duncan said. “Imagine the shark-like version of a baleen whale — small and deceptively cute, but definitely not harmless.”
Photo: Tom Breakwell, Museums Victoria via AFP
The skull belonged to a group of prehistoric whales known as the mammalodontids, distant smaller relatives of today’s filter-feeding whales.
It is the fourth mammalodontid species ever discovered, Museums Victoria said.
“This fossil opens a window into how ancient whales grew and changed, and how evolution shaped their bodies as they adapted to life in the sea,” said paleontologist Erich Fitzgerald, who coauthored the study.
Surf Coast lies on the Jan Juc Formation — a geological feature dating to the Oligocene epoch between 23 and 30 million years ago. A string of rare fossils have been unearthed along the scenic stretch of beach, a renowned site for the study of early whale evolution.
“This region was once a cradle for some of the most unusual whales in history, and we’re only just beginning to uncover their stories,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re entering a new phase of discovery. This region is rewriting the story of how whales came to rule the oceans, with some surprising plot twists.”
The species was named Janjucetus dullard, a nod to local Ross Dullard who stumbled across the skull while strolling the beach in 2019. It was described in the peer-reviewed Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
Chinese tech giant Alibaba yesterday denied it helps Beijing target the US, saying that a recent news report was “completely false.” The Financial Times yesterday reported that Alibaba “provides tech support for Chinese military ‘operations’ against [US] targets,” a White House memo provided to the newspaper showed. Alibaba hands customer data, including “IP addresses, WiFi information and payment records,” to Chinese authorities and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the report cited the memo as saying. The Financial Times said it could not independently verify the claims, adding that the White House believes the actions threaten US security. An Alibaba Group spokesperson said “the assertions
LEFT AND RIGHT: Battling anti-incumbent, anticommunist sentiment, Jeanette Jara had a precarious lead over far-right Jose Antonio Kast as they look to the Dec. 14 run Leftist candidate Jeannette Jara and far-right leader Jose Antonio Kast are to go head-to-head in Chile’s presidential runoff after topping Sunday’s first round of voting in an election dominated by fears of violent crime. With 99 percent of the results counted, Jara, a 51-year-old communist running on behalf of an eight-party coalition, won 26.85 percent, compared with 23.93 percent for Kast, the Servel electoral service said. The election was dominated by deep concern over a surge in murders, kidnappings and extortion widely blamed on foreign crime gangs. Kast, 59, has vowed to build walls, fences and trenches along Chile’s border with Bolivia to
RSS