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Gray whale

UN adopts High Seas Treaty to protect the ocean

At the UN 'High Seas Treaty' negotiations in New York, a historic vote for the...

Hopes raised for whale and dolphin protection after last minute landmark nature agreement

WDC's Ed Goodall (far right) at COP15 with Thérèse Coffey (centre) UK Secretary of State...

WDC orca champion picks up award

Beatrice Whishart MSP picks up her Nature Champion award The Scottish Environment LINK, an organisation...

Large number of dolphins moved to Abu Dhabi marine park

Up to 24 captive bottlenose dolphins have reportedly been sent to a new SeaWorld theme...

Toothed ancestor of baleen whales discovered

Scientists in the US have unearthed the fossil of a new species of ancient whale, thought to have lived around 30 million years ago.

What makes this discovery particularly noteworthy is that it is one of the oldest ancestors of baleen whales ever discovered but unlike its modern relatives, it possessed teeth. In addition, it is also one of the smallest whales ever found at around 2 – 2.5 metres long.

Named Fucaia buelli, the fossil was found on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, USA. The discovery is helping scientists work out how baleen whales may have evolved. It is thought this whale may have sucked its prey further into its mouth after capturing it with its teeth. It may have had large gums and over time might have developed greater use of suction feeding (as seem in modern gray whales), and lost the need for teeth as it evolved to hunt smaller and smaller prey, leading to the eventual use of baleen instead.

A new Early Oligocene toothed ‘baleen’ whale (Mysticeti: Aetiocetidae) from western North America: one of the oldest and the smallest
Felix G. Marx, Cheng-Hsiu Tsai, R. Ewan Fordyce
The Royal Society