Victorian fossil results in discovery of latest species of historical baleen whale

Researchers have hailed the invention of an historical whale species in Australia’s south-east as a milestone in marine science.

Found close to Jan Juc on Victoria’s Surf Coast in 2019, the fossil of a baleen whale has as we speak been described because the Janjucetus dullardi — an “entirely new species of prehistoric whale”.

“This is a whale that was unknown to science,” Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology on the Museums Victoria Research Institute advised the ABC.

“What is really significant about this new species of fossil whale is that it actually is an ancient ancestor of today’s baleen whales, and that includes gentle giants like humpback whale and blue whale.”

The Janjucetus dullardi lived 25 million years in the past and belongs to an extinct genus of baleen whales — which as an alternative of enamel, have baleens, or exhausting plates, hooked up to their jaws — known as Mammalodontids.

But not like others within the household, the brand new species named on Wednesday has large eyes, sharp enamel and is simply over 2 metres in size, a tiny dimension by whale requirements.

Scientists behind the examine stated it appeared the Janjucetus dullardi was constructed for searching and would have been a fearsome predator in historical Victorian seas.

“It’s essentially a little whale with big eyes and a mouth full of sharp, slicing teeth … small and deceptively cute, but definitely not harmless,” stated Ruairidh Dunac, a PhD scholar at Monash University.

‘Iconically Australian’

The discovery marks simply the third mammalodontid species to be recognized in Victoria following discoveries in 2006 and 1939, and the fourth worldwide, however it’s the primary time an historical whale fossil has been discovered with each enamel and internal constructions preserved intimately.

Mammalodontids lived solely through the Oligocene Epoch, a geological interval that lasted from about 33 to 23 million years in the past. Despite the three named species, most mammalodontid materials stays undescribed.

It’s the primary time in almost 20 years {that a} new species of fossil whale has been named from Australia.

Researchers say the situation of the fossil will enhance understanding of the behaviours of early whales, significantly how they tailored to hotter oceans in historical instances, which can then assist predict how trendy marine ecosystems will adapt to local weather change in coming years.

The Jan Juc Formation south-west of Victoria’s Torquay has yielded a number of fossils of aquatic mammals previously, with the coastal stretch across the area incomes worldwide recognition for early whale evolution.

Dr Fitzgerald stated contributions from the neighborhood underpinned most breakthroughs in paleontology.

“These discoveries often rely on the keen eyes and generosity of members of the public, in bringing to the attention of museums fossils they might find while out there beachcombing or looking amongst rocks in parts of Australia where there are fossils,” he stated.

“We now want to know when and where they began their story and ultimately what led to their extinction.”

The Janjucetus dullardi was discovered by native resident Ross Dullard throughout a stroll alongside the seashore at Jan Juc, earlier than he donated it to Museums Victoria.

Dr Fitzgerald stated the whale was distinctive to Australia.