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☆ Researchers Dispute Claim That Ancient Whale Was Heaviest Animal Ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last August, a team of paleontologists announced that they had discovered the fossilized bones of a gigantic ancient whale. Perucetus, as they named it, might have weighed over 200 tons, which would make it the heaviest animal that has ever lived. But in a study published Thursday, a pair of scientists have challenged that bold claim. The bones had many hallmarks of whales’ bones. Dr. Urbina and his colleagues reconstructed the full skeleton of Perucetus by studying the much smaller whales that lived at the same time.

Persons: ”, Nicholas Pyenson, Pyenson, Ryosuke, Perucetus, Mario Urbina, Urbina Organizations: Smithsonian National Museum of, University of California, Museum, National University of San Locations: Davis, National University of San Marcos, Lima , Peru, Peru

☆ In Peru, a Fossil-Rich Desert Faces Unruly Development
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Mitra Taj | Marco Garro | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Millions of years ago, this desert in Peru was a gathering place for fantastical sea creatures: whales that walked, dolphins with walrus faces, sharks with teeth as large as a human face, red-feathered penguins, aquatic sloths. They reproduced in the gentle waters of a shallow lagoon buffered by hills that still wrap across the landscape today. Eventually, tectonic shifts lifted the land from the sea. Discoveries from the region have come at a brisk pace in recent decades, with at least 55 new species of marine vertebrates found so far. In August, paleontologists unveiled what may be the region’s most remarkable find yet: Perucetus colossus, a manatee-like whale now considered the heaviest animal known to have existed.

Locations: Peru, Pisco

☆ Newly discovered ancient creature may have been the heaviest animal ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This week, scientists shared discoveries of ancient species that lived and died tens of millions of years ago, providing tantalizing insights into creatures never documented until now. The colossal ancient whale, which swam the seas about 39 million years ago, likely weighed two to three times more than the blue whale. NASA/ESA/Joseph Olmsted (STScI)When the Hubble Space Telescope initially observed a young planetary system 32 light-years from Earth, it didn’t reveal any surprises. And the James Webb Space Telescope spied new details within the colorful, iconic Ring Nebula. The fruit flies in the groundbreaking study don’t typically reproduce through virgin births, also called parthenogenesis, although many animal species do.

Persons: Alberto Gennari, Michael Brecht, ” Brecht, Joseph Olmsted, Euclid, James Webb, —, Hala Alarashi, Alice Burkhardt, Ba, Emperor Nero, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Canadian Rockies, Humboldt University, NASA, ESA, Hubble, Telescope, Petra Museum, CNN Space, Science Locations: Ica, Berlin, Jordan, East Coast, United States

☆ Ancient whale from Peru may be most massive animal ever on Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Giovanni Bianucci/Handout via REUTERSAug 2 (Reuters) - Move over, blue whale. The biggest-known blue whale weighed around 190 tons, though it was longer than Perucetus at 110 feet (33.5 meters). Its skeletal mass alone was estimated at between 5 and 8 tons, at least twice that of the blue whale. The researchers suspect Perucetus lived like sirenians - not an active predator but an animal that fed near the bottom of shallow coastal waters. The researchers said it was unlikely Perucetus was a filter-feeder like today's baleen whales including the blue whale.

Persons: Giovanni Bianucci, Perucetus, Bianucci, Olivier Lambert of, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, University of Pisa, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Thomson Locations: Peru, Handout, Italy, Argentina, sirenians, Brussels, hoofed, Washington

☆ Whale fossil may be the heaviest animal ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A colossal ancient whale discovered in Peru might be the heaviest animal on record, according to a new study. What’s more, Perucetus likely weighed two to three times more than the blue whale, which today weighs a maximum of 149.6 metric tons (330,000 pounds). Giovanni Bianucci“Discoveries of such extreme body forms are an opportunity to re-evaluate our understanding of animal evolution,” wrote J.G.M. “It seems that we are only dimly aware of how astonishing whale form and function can be,” they added. The lifestyle of a colossal whaleThe findings suggest that gigantism or peak body mass among cetaceans had been reached around 30 million years earlier than previously thought, according to the study.

Persons: Giovanni Bianucci, “, ” Bianucci, Perucetus, ”, ’, Bianucci, pacificus, Mystacodon selenesis, Mario Urbina Schmitt, Schmitt, Thewissen, David A, Waugh, weren’t, Ingalls, Brown, ” Thewissen Organizations: CNN, University of Pisa’s, sirenians, Peru “, National University of San, Ohio Medical University Locations: Peru, Italy, Ica, Peruvian, National University of San Marcos, Lima

☆ The partial skeleton of an ancient whale shows it could've weighed nearly as much as a Boeing 747, making it one of the heaviest animals ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It may have weighed twice as much as a blue whale because of its dense bones. That's nearly as heavy as a Boeing 747 or twice as much as a blue whale, which typically weighs between 72 and 180 tons. That means the other fossils retrieved from the area may not offer clues to how P. colossus lived. A 3D model shows what a complete skeleton of Perucetus colossus would look like, above a blue whale and smaller Cynthiacetus peruvianus skeletons. No limbs were found near the P. colossus skeleton, but fossilized evidence suggests it likely had both front and back legs.

Persons: Mario Urbina, Olivier Lambert, Giovanni Bianucci, Cynthiacetus, colossus, colossus isn't, Lambert, Florent Goussard, Marco Merella Organizations: Service, Boeing, Santa Barbara Museum of, History Locations: Wall, Silicon, Pisco, Peru, London

☆ This Ancient Whale May Have Been the Heaviest Animal Ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Carl Zimmer | More About Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Paleontologists on Wednesday unveiled the fossilized bones of one of the strangest whales in history. The 39-million-year-old leviathan, called Perucetus, may have weighed about 200 tons, as much as a blue whale — by far the heaviest animal known, until now. While blue whales are sleek, fast-swimming divers, Perucetus was a very different beast. Some experts cautioned that more bones would have to be discovered before a firm estimate of Perucetus’s weight could be made. “It’s clear from this discovery that there are so many other ways of being a whale that we have not yet discovered.”

Persons: Perucetus, ”, Nicholas Pyenson Organizations: Wednesday, Smithsonian National Museum of

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