This week in Australia, an ancient whale fossil estimated between 25 and 28 million years old has been discovered, and offers some unique insight into evolution and predatory habits.
The whale, which has been dubbed the ancient dwarf whale since it measures only about 9 feet in length. It’s believed that this whale shares eating habits of today’s baleen whales like the minke, humpback and blue whale. The jaw and skull structures indicate that like today’s species it might use a mud sucking and filter feeding method of eating. However, what’s also unique about this particular fossil of the whale is that it also has teeth – unusual for a whale of this type.
Researchers believe that this what is also a bit of an evolutionary anomaly. Likely an ancestor of larger similar whales that adapted in order to eat small prey through mud sucking methods as well as larger prey with its teeth.
Image Via: Flickr User Mike Baird with a Creative Commons License