Dr James Rule (L) and Dr Erich Fitzgerald (R) with the Murray River whale fossil at Melbourne Museum. Credit: Eugene Hyland. Source: Museums Victoria
Prepare to have your mind blown by the latest ground-breaking research from the Museums Victoria Research Institute, which has shattered our previous understanding of the evolution of baleen whales.
Paleontologists Dr. James Rule (Monash University and Natural History Museum, London) and Dr. Erich Fitzgerald (Museums Victoria Research Institute) have co-authored the open access paper “Giant baleen whales emerged from a cold southern cradle,” published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
It’s time to rewrite the history books. Contrary to previous belief, it was discovered that the largest baleen whales evolved as far back as 20 million years ago in the Southern Hemisphere, not 3 million years ago in the Northern Hemisphere during the Ice Age.
This game-changing discovery was made through the analysis of a fossil located in the Museums Victoria collection—the front end of the lower jaw of an ancient whale aged between 21–16 million years old. The fossil was recovered from a cliff face on the bank of the Murray River in South Australia in 1921 but was largely unrecognized in the collection until Dr. Fitzgerald realized its significance about a decade ago.
Join Dr. Rule and Dr. Fitzgerald as they present their ground-breaking discoveries, which highlight the importance of the Australian and wider Southern Hemisphere fossil record in piecing together the global picture of whale evolution. This new paradigm-shifting information shakes up the previous thinking that was based on fossils primarily found in the Northern Hemisphere.
Get ready to have your understanding of whale evolution turned on its head with this incredible Australasian fossil discovery! Dive deeper into the fascinating revelations of Dr. Rule and Dr. Fitzgerald by clicking on the link below.
