Discover the oldest whale fossil ever

A group of Argentinian and Swedish paleontologists has announced the discovery of the whale fossil, dating back to 49.5 million years ago - the oldest evidence of live mammals. This water has been found so far.

The new fossil was found to be a 60cm long jaw of a 4-6 ton whale of the Basilosauridae family - descendant of the amphibian whale Protocetidae (with four-legged development) and is the nest of whales and contemporary dolphin.

An image of the oldest whale simulation ever. (Photo: AFP)

The research team said the first useful information from this finding is evidence of evolution, suggesting that amphibian whales have evolved into animals completely underwater much earlier than calculated by the gynecologists. study before .

This fossil is found on Marambio Island, near the Weddell Sea, north of the Antarctic Peninsula. This area belongs to the rare 10% of the area that can be excavated on the icy continent and this is the first whale fossil found in this study area.

For the past 30 years, the Argentine Antarctic Research Institute has conducted numerous excavation surveys in this area and once discovered fossils of many dinosaurs, fish, giant penguins, turtles and bone marine animals. living; This proves that tens of millions of years ago, this harsh ice land used to have an ideal living condition and high biological diversity.

The newly discovered fossil whale function will be restored and analyzed at the Patagonia Research Center, the port city of Puerto de Madryn, southern Argentina.