Scientists discover an ancient whale with a Pokémon face and a predator bite
Advertisement
'It might have looked for all the world like some weird kind of mash-up between a whale, a seal and a Pokémon but they were very much their own thing.'
Extinct species was an odd branch on the whale family tree
The rare discovery of the partial skull, including ear bones and teeth, was made in 2019 on a fossil-rich stretch of coast along Australia's Victoria state. Jan Juc Beach, a cradle for some of the weirdest whales in history, is becoming a hotspot for understanding early whale evolution, Fitzgerald said.
Few family trees seem stranger than that of Janjucetus dullardi, only the fourth species ever identified from a group known as mammalodontids, early whales that lived only during the Oligocene Epoch, about 34 to 23 million years ago. That marked the point about halfway through the known history of whales.
Advertisement
The tiny predators, thought to have grown to 3 meters (10 feet) in length, were an early branch on the line that led to today's great baleen whales, such as humpbacks, blues and minkes. But the toothy ancestors with powerful jaws would have looked radically different to any modern species.
'They may have had tiny little nubbins of legs just projecting as stumps from the wall of the body,' said Fitzgerald.
That mystery will remain tantalizingly unsolved unless a specimen is uncovered with more of its skeleton intact, which would be something of a miracle. Even the partial skull that allowed the initial identification this week was an astonishing discovery.
For an amateur paleontologist, a life-long obsession paid off
Janjucetus dullardi was named by researchers after an amateur fossil hunter who doesn't mind its looks in the slightest.
'It's literally been the greatest 24 hours of my life,' said Ross Dullard, who discovered the skull while fossil hunting at Jan Juc Beach. After Wednesday's confirmation of the new species, the school principal walked like a rock star onto campus with 'high fives coming left, right and center,' he said.
His friends and family are probably just relieved it's over.
'That's all they've heard from me for about the last six years,' he said.
Dullard was on a regular low-tide hunt at Jan Juc the day he spotted something black protruding from a cliff. Poking it dislodged a tooth.
He knew enough to recognize it was unlikely to belong to a dog or a seal.
'I thought, geez, we've got something special here,' he said. Dullard sent photos to Museums Victoria, where Fitzgerald saw them and immediately suspected a new species.
Ancient whale finds are rare but significant
Confirming the find was another matter. This was the first mammalodontid to be identified in Australia since 2006 and only the third on record in the country.
Advertisement
Fossils of sufficient quality, with enough of the right details preserved to confirm uniqueness, aren't common.
In this photo provided by Museums Victoria Ruairidh Duncan, left, and Erich Fitzgerald examined a partial fossil skull in the paleontology lab at Melbourne Museum.
Tom Breakwell/Associated Press
'Cetaceans represent a fairly miniscule population of all life,' Fitzgerald said. Millions of years of erosion, scavengers and ocean currents take their toll on whale skeletons too.
'It's only the chosen few, the vast minority of all whales that have ever lived and died in the oceans over millions of years, that actually get preserved as fossils,' he added.
Finds such as Janjucetus dullardi can unlock insights into how prehistoric whales ate, moved, behaved — and evolved. Researchers said the discoveries also helped to understand how ancient cetacean species adapted to warmer oceans, as they study how today's marine life might respond to climate change.
Meanwhile, Dullard planned to host a fossil party this weekend, featuring cetacean-themed games and whale-shaped treats in jello, to celebrate his nightmare Muppet find, finally confirmed.
'That's taken my concentration for six years,' he said. 'I've had sleepless nights. I've dreamt about this whale.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scientists Discover 'Deceptively Cute' Prehistoric Species That Looked Like a Pokémon
Scientists have identified a new species of ancient whale with cartoonish bulging eyes that they say would have made it look like a Pokémon. A precursor to today's modern whale species, the 25 million-year-old creature was "deceptively cute," according to Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at Australia's Museums Victoria Research Institute, as reported by the Toronto Sun. "It might have looked for all the world like some weird kind of mash-up between a whale, a seal and a Pokémon," Fitzgerald said, before clarifying, "but they were very much their own thing." While the species, officially named Janjucetus dullardi, might have looked like something you could pop out of a Pokéball, in reality they would have been something you'd probably want to stay clear of. Described as a feral predator with a super effective bite, the specimen is estimated to have once been around the size of a single bed, despite only being a juvenile. Still, much of the species' full appearance remains a mystery, as only a partial skull and teeth have so far been found. "They may have had tiny little nubbins of legs just projecting as stumps from the wall of the body," Fitzgerald continued. Adorable! Janjucetus dullardi has been placed as a member of the rare mammalodontids group of ancient whales that existed 34-23 million years ago, which later evolved into the humpbacks and minke whales of today. Or in Pokémon terms, it would have definitely been Water-type. The species has been named after amateur fossil hunter and high school principal Ross Dullard, who contacted Museums Victoria after unearthing the skull on a local beach. Confirming it did indeed belong to a previously-unknown species has since taken six years of research — a lot longer than simply registering it to a Pokédex. This week, however, has finally brought that confirmation — something Dullard says has given him "the greatest 24 hours of my life" and "high fives coming left, right and center" when he was greeted on his high school campus the following day. "That's taken my concentration for six years," Dullard said. "I've had sleepless nights. I've dreamt about this whale." Now, how about returning it to life, Helix Fossil style? Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ or find him on Bluesky @ Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
New species of Prehistoric whale discovered off Australia
Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Prehistoric fossils have led to the discovery of an ancient whale species off the coast of Australia. Scientists said the species, Janjucetus dullardi, is one of the earliest cousins of modern whales but was not an ocean giant, researchers from Museums Victoria Research Institute said. The whale has been described as a fast, sharp-toothed predator about the size of a dolphin with a short snout, large forward-facing eyes and slicing teeth, according to a study. "It's essentially a little whale with big eyes and a mouth full of sharp, slicing teeth. Imagine the shark-like version of a baleen whale, small and deceptively cute, but definitely not harmless," said Ruairidh Duncan, lead author of the study. The ancient whale was named after a Victoria resident Ross Dullard found the fossil, a partial skull with ear bones and teeth, found in 2019 as he walked along the beach. "This kind of public discovery and its reporting to the museum is vital," said Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology at Museums Victoria Research Institute and senior author of the study. "Ross' discovery has unlocked an entire chapter of whale evolution we've never seen before. It's a reminder that world-changing fossils can be found in your own backyard." The fossil fragments found belonged to a juvenile specimen that belonged to a group of whales known as mammalodontis, which lived 30 to 23 million years ago. These fragments mark the third known species from Victoria, and the fourth found worldwide. It was also the first of its kind to preserve both the teeth and inner ear structures. "The findings demonstrate the power of our collections to unlock stories that change the way we understand life on Earth. Thanks to the generosity of the public and the expertise of our scientists," CEO and Director of Museums Victoria said. "Museums Victoria Research Institute is making globally significant contributions to evolutionary research. Discoveries like Janjucetus dullardi remind us that our collections are not just about the past they're shaping the future of science."
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scientists discover ‘deceptively cute' ancient whale
A chance discovery of a 25 million-year-old fossil on an Australian beach has allowed palaeontologists to identify a rare, entirely new species that could unlock mysteries of whale evolution. Researchers this week officially named Janjucetus dullardi, a cartoonish creature with bulging eyes the size of tennis balls, in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Unlike today's whales, the juvenile specimen was small enough to fit in a single bed. Boasting fiendish teeth and a shark-like snout, however, this oddball of the ocean was nasty, mean and built to hunt. 'It was, let's say, deceptively cute,' said Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology at Museums Victoria Research Institute, and one of the paper's authors. 'It might have looked for all the world like some weird kind of mash-up between a whale, a seal and a Pokemon but they were very much their own thing.' The rare discovery of the partial skull, including ear bones and teeth, was made in 2019 on a fossil-rich stretch of coast along Australia's Victoria state. Jan Juc Beach, a cradle for some of the weirdest whales in history, is becoming a hotspot for understanding early whale evolution, Mr Fitzgerald said. Few family trees seem stranger than that of Janjucetus dullardi, only the fourth species ever identified from a group known as mammalodontids, early whales that lived only during the Oligocene Epoch, about 34 to 23 million years ago. That marked the point about halfway through the known history of whales. The tiny predators, thought to have grown to three metres (10ft) in length, were an early branch on the line that led to today's great baleen whales, such as humpbacks, blues and minkes. But the toothy ancestors with powerful jaws would have looked radically different to any modern species. 'They may have had tiny little nubbins of legs just projecting as stumps from the wall of the body,' said Mr Fitzgerald. That mystery will remain tantalisingly unsolved unless a specimen is uncovered with more of its skeleton intact, which would be something of a miracle. Even the partial skull that allowed the initial identification this week was an astonishing discovery. Janjucetus dullardi was named by researchers after an amateur fossil hunter who does not mind its looks in the slightest. 'It's literally been the greatest 24 hours of my life,' said Ross Dullard, who discovered the skull while fossil hunting at Jan Juc Beach. After Wednesday's confirmation of the new species, the school principal walked like a rock star on to campus with 'high fives coming left, right and centre', he said. His friends and family are probably just relieved it is over. 'That's all they've heard from me for about the last six years,' he said. Mr Dullard was on a regular low-tide hunt at Jan Juc the day he spotted something black protruding from a cliff. Poking it dislodged a tooth. He knew enough to recognise it was unlikely to belong to a dog or a seal. 'I thought, geez, we've got something special here,' he said. Mr Dullard sent photos to Museums Victoria, where Mr Fitzgerald saw them and immediately suspected a new species. Confirming the find was another matter. This was the first mammalodontid to be identified in Australia since 2006 and only the third on record in the country. Fossils of sufficient quality, with enough of the right details preserved to confirm uniqueness, are not common. 'Cetaceans represent a fairly miniscule population of all life,' Mr Fitzgerald said. Millions of years of erosion, scavengers and ocean currents take their toll on whale skeletons too. 'It's only the chosen few, the vast minority of all whales that have ever lived and died in the oceans over millions of years, that actually get preserved as fossils,' he added. Finds such as Janjucetus dullardi can unlock insights into how prehistoric whales ate, moved, behaved – and evolved. Researchers said the discoveries also helped to understand how ancient cetacean species adapted to warmer oceans, as they study how today's marine life might respond to climate change. Meanwhile, Mr Dullard planned to host a fossil party this weekend, featuring cetacean-themed games and whale-shaped treats in jello, to celebrate his find finally being confirmed. 'That's taken my concentration for six years,' he said. 'I've had sleepless nights. I've dreamt about this whale.'
