According to a study published in the scientific journal Nature, bones of an ancestor of the blue whale have been discovered, which lived almost 40 million years ago and may have weighed up to 340 tons.
Scientists recently discovered a part of the blue whale ancestor’s skeleton made up of 13 giant vertebrae (one weighing over 200 kilograms), four ribs and a hip bone.
These discoveries took several years to collect and prepare the bones and many expeditions by the group of Peruvian and European scientists.
The study indicates that it is a new species of basilosauridae, an extinct family of cetaceans.
Despite the giant body of this “Colossal Peruvian Whale”, researchers believe the animal had a “ridiculously” small head. According to scientists, due to the weight of its bones, this giant whale lived in shallow waters in coastal environments. It is estimated that the entire skeleton weighs between five to seven tons, being twice as heavy as the skeleton of a blue whale.
The modern blue whale has long been considered the largest and heaviest animal in history, with a body mass of 190 tonnes, dwarfing all giant dinosaurs of the past. The “Colossal Whale of Peru” could break this record. Scientists estimate that the animal had an average body mass of 180 tonnes, but could reach 340.
Before reaching a definitive conclusion, the researchers want to continue analyzing the traces found.
