Decipher the mysterious death at the 9 million year old whale cemetery

The mysteries associated with a 9 million-year-old whale graveyard in the Atacama desert located next to the Pan-American highway in Chile were finally revealed.

>>>Discover the graveyard of 75 whales in the desert

Scientists believe that Chilean whale fossils, dating from 6 to 9 million years old, are the first evidence that marine life is mass die by poisonous algae, then runs aground. .

Whale cemetery in the desert near the Pan-American highway in Chile

Hiding in the Atacama desert for millions of years, fossils have been identified as the corpses of four different whales being stranded. They were killed by a similar cause due to toxic algae contamination.

This whale cemetery was discovered in 2010, described as the fossil of the most exotic mammal marine animal on the planet.

The Chilean paleontologist and the Smithsonian conducted a 3D digital model of the bones discovered in the graveyard for further research in the laboratory.

Scientists believe that these animals are poisoned by the toxins of some blooming algae. This is the main reason why some whales die in the same place.

Nicholas Pyenson, a paleontologist at Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and lead author of the study, said: 'The flowering of toxic algae can attack a variety of mammal marine animals and Great predatory fish. This is also the cause of the death of a series of creatures in the Atacama Desert, Chile. After being poisoned and killed, the bodies of the whales were washed away by the tide towards the coast. '