Giant baleen whales emerged from a cold southern cradle.
Proc Biol Sci
; 290(2013): 20232177, 2023 Dec 20.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38113937
ABSTRACT
Baleen whales (mysticetes) include the largest animals on the Earth. How they achieved such gigantic sizes remains debated, with previous research focusing primarily on when mysticetes became large, rather than where. Here, we describe an edentulous baleen whale fossil (21.12-16.39 mega annum (Ma)) from South Australia. With an estimated body length of 9 m, it is the largest mysticete from the Early Miocene. Analysing body size through time shows that ancient baleen whales from the Southern Hemisphere were larger than their northern counterparts. This pattern seemingly persists for much of the Cenozoic, even though southern specimens contribute only 19% to the global mysticete fossil record. Our findings contrast with previous ideas of a single abrupt shift towards larger size during the Plio-Pleistocene, which we here interpret as a glacially driven Northern Hemisphere phenomenon. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating Southern Hemisphere fossils into macroevolutionary patterns, especially in light of the high productivity of Southern Ocean environments.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Ballenas
/
Fósiles
Límite:
Animals
País/Región como asunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Proc Biol Sci
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Australia
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido