Ancient sperm whale found in landfill site
Remains of an ancient, fossilized sperm whale have been found in a landfill site in the US.
Parts of the skull, a jawbone, a flipper and 18 teeth from the whale were uncovered at the site in Orange County, and are thought to be 10 to 12 million years old.
Back then, the landfill site would have been submerged under an ancient warm ocean that the whale (measuring around 40 feet) would have been swimming through.
Sperm whales are one of the deepest diving mammals in the world. Typically they make dives of up to 400m, but can reach depths of up to 2-3km. They are also thought to be able to hold their breath for up to two hours.
