Mystery of pre-historic whale graveyard solved by toxic algae
Scores of whales ended up in a desert more than half a mile from the sea five millions years ago
THE mystery of a pre-historic whale graveyard discovered in a desert beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile may have finally been solved by scientists.
The bones were unearthed in June 2010 during a road-widening project and represent one of the most significant fossil discoveries of recent years.
But scientists were baffled as to why scores of fossilised whales, who died five million years ago, came to be found in a desert more than half a mile from the modern seashore. But today experts from the Smithsonian Institute have published their findings, shedding some light on the mystery.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Scientists believe the mass grave was the result of not one but four separate mass strandings spread over a period of several thousand years.
The whales are believed to have ingested toxic algae, causing organ failure and rapid death. The dead mammals were then washed into an ancient estuary and on to flat sands where they became buried over time.
In a Royal Society journal, the scientists reveal that more than 40 whales were discovered, as well as other important marine animals. "We found extinct creatures such as walrus whales – dolphins that evolved a walrus-like face. And then there were these bizarre aquatic sloths," says Nicholas Pyenson, a palaeontologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
This indicates that a large, indiscriminate event took the lives of many creatures simultaneously, rather than just a virus or another illness that killed only whales, say scientists. Fossil algae mats found on the skeletons are another important indicator that algae blooms killed the animals.
Many of the fossils at Cerro Ballena, now regarded as one of the densest fossil sites in the world, were described as "perfect" but for a few nicks inflicted by foraging crabs. Scientists say this means they were likely to have then been washed ashore quickly before other ocean predators could scavenge their remains. Many were also lying "belly up", suggesting that the whales died out at sea and did not strand themselves upright on the shore.
Scientists believe there could be hundreds of specimens in the area still waiting to be unearthed and investigated.
Pictures courtesy of Adam Metallo/Smithsonian Institution
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaine
In the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
By The Week UK Published
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the rise and fall of Matt Gaetz
Cartoons Artists take on age brackets, backbiting, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The future of X
Talking Point Trump's ascendancy is reviving the platform's coffers, whether or not a merger is on the cards
By The Week UK Published
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drug
Speed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
By The Week Staff Published
-
In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policy
Speed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
By The Week Staff Published
-
Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?
Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Inclusive Britain: a new strategy for tackling racism in the UK
Speed Read Government has revealed action plan setting out 74 steps that ministers will take
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sandy Hook families vs. Remington: a small victory over the gunmakers
Speed Read Last week the families settled a lawsuit for $73m against the manufacturer
By The Week Staff Published
-
Farmers vs. walkers: the battle over ‘Britain’s green and pleasant land’
Speed Read Updated Countryside Code tells farmers: ‘be nice, say hello, share the space’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Motherhood: why are we putting it off?
Speed Read Stats show around 50% of women in England and Wales now don’t have children by 30
By The Week Staff Published
-
Anti-Semitism in America: a case of double standards?
Speed Read Officials were strikingly reluctant to link Texas synagogue attack to anti-Semitism
By The Week Staff Published