Researchers describe new North Pacific fossil whale

Researchers describe new North Pacific fossil whale

A new species of fossil baleen whale that lived in the North Pacific Ocean 30 to 33 million years ago has been described by researchers from New Zealand’s University of Otago.

The whale, named Fucaia buelli by the researchers, is transitional between ancient toothed whales and the baleen whales of modern seas. It is one of the oldest baleen whales ever found and, at a length of about 2-2.5m, also one of the smallest.

The fossil, which was recovered from Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, USA, is described in a newly published paper in the UK journal Royal Society Open Science.

Paper co-author Dr Felix Marx says that unlike its living baleen whale relatives, which use comb-like baleen plates to filter krill from the surrounding water, Fucaia had well-developed teeth which it used to actively hunt and chew its prey.

“Once captured, prey was likely sucked deeper into the mouth for swallowing—a technique which, ultimately, may have given rise to baleen and filter feeding in the modern Mysticeti suborder of whales,” Dr Marx says.

Dr Marx and his co-authors Dr C.H. Tsai and Professor Ewan Fordyce say that the fossil sheds new light on one of the big questions in mammalian evolution; how, when and why did modern baleen whales lose their teeth?

The complex teeth in Fucaia, and distinctive wear patterns, show that Fucaia likely chewed its food. Long-based and closely-spaced teeth in the jaw leave little room for baleen, but there are some indications that Fucaia perhaps had enlarged gums.

“We think that Fucaia was similar to modern dolphins in capturing its prey using its teeth and perhaps strong suction. Suction feeding likely enabled early whales to move from a tooth-based feeding style to filter-feeding, by allowing them to capture smaller prey items than teeth alone could handle,” Dr Marx says.

The researchers note that suction feeding can still be seen in living grey whales.

“This behaviour may have prompted the evolution of baleen from the enlarged gums, possibly as a more efficient way to expel the water sucked in with the food. As the prey became smaller, teeth became increasingly obsolete and, ultimately, were lost completely in modern baleen whales,” says Professor Fordyce.

ENDS

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