A complete petrified skeleton of Lomacetus sp., an ancestor of modern porpoises dating back more than 10 million years, is unveiled at the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institutein Lima. The specimen was discovered in the Ocucaje Desert, in Ica, southern Peru. Photo / Ernesto Benavides, AFP
A complete petrified skeleton of Lomacetus sp., an ancestor of modern porpoises dating back more than 10 million years, is unveiled at the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institutein Lima. The specimen was discovered in the Ocucaje Desert, in Ica, southern Peru. Photo / Ernesto Benavides, AFP
Peruvian palaeontologists today unveiled the 12-million-year-old fossil of a prehistoric porpoise found near the country’s Pacific coast.
The fossil, which measures 3.5m long, was found in July by Peruvian palaeontologist Mario Urbina in the Ocucaje Desert, around 350km south of the capital Lima.
Presenting his find at theGeological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institute in Lima, Urbina said it was a rare specimen of a porpoise from the Pisco geological formation, noted for its well-preserved marine fossils.
Another palaeontologist, Mario Gamarra, said the relic’s excellent condition would allow scientists new avenues for studying the prehistoric marine mammal: “how it moved, how it swam, what it ate and for how long it lived”.
The Ocucaje Desert is a paradise for fossil hunters.
The skeletons of four-legged dwarf whales, dolphins, sharks, and other species from the Miocene period (between five million and 23 million years ago) have all been discovered in the area.
