LIMA, March 20 (BUS): Paleontologists have discovered the skull of a ferocious marine predator, an ancient ancestor of modern-day whales, which once lived in a prehistoric ocean that covered part of what is now Peru.
The well-preserved skull nearly 36 million years old as it is last year was excavated from very dry rock in the Okucaji Desert of southern Peru, with rows of long, pointed teeth, said Rodolfo Salas, Head of Paleontology at the National University of Peru. San Marcos said at a conference.
Scientists believe the ancient mammals were of the family Basilosaurus, part of the family of aquatic cetaceans, whose contemporary descendants include whales, dolphins and porpoises, according to Reuters.
Basilosaurus means “royal lizard,” although the animal was not a reptile, although its long body probably moved like a giant snake.
The one-time top predator likely measured around 12 meters (39 ft), or about the height of a four-story building.
“It was a sea monster,” Salas said, adding that the skull, which has already been on display at the university’s museum, may have belonged to a new species of basilosaur.
“When she was foraging for her food, she definitely did a lot of damage,” Salas added.
Scientists believe that the first cetaceans evolved from mammals that lived on Earth about 55 million years ago, about 10 million years after an asteroid impacted what is now Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, wiping out most life on Earth, including dinosaurs.
Salas explained that when the ancient Basilosaurus died, its skull likely sank to the sea floor, where it was quickly buried and preserved.
“Back at this age, the conditions of fossilization were very good in Okokaji,” he said.
HF