LIMA — Paleontologists have unearthed the skull of a ferocious marine predator, the ancestral ancestor of modern day whales, who once lived in a prehistoric ocean that covered part of what is now Peru, scientists said Thursday.
The well-preserved skull, around 36 million years old, was unearthed intact last year from the dry rocks of the Ocucaje desert in southern Peru, with rows of long, sharp teeth, Paleontology chief Rodolfo Salas at the National University of Peru. San Marcos, told reporters at a press conference.
Scientists believe the ancient mammal was a basilosaurus, part of the aquatic cetacean family, whose contemporary descendants include whales, dolphins and porpoises.
Basilosaurus means “king lizard”, although the animal is not a reptile, although its long body was able to move like a giant snake.
The ancient top predator was probably about 39 feet long, about the height of a four-story building.
“It was a sea monster,” Salas said, adding that the skull, which has already been displayed at the university’s museum, may belong to a new species of basilosaurus.
“When he was looking for his food, he surely did a lot of damage,” Salas added.
Scientists believe the first cetaceans evolved from mammals that lived on land around 55 million years ago, around 10 million years after an asteroid struck right next to what is today Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, wiping out most life on Earth, including dinosaurs.
Salas explained that when the ancient basilosaurus died, its skull likely sank to the bottom of the seabed, where it was quickly buried and preserved.
“At that time, fossilization conditions were very good in Ocucaje,” he said.
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