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Scientists have found a new species of prehistoric whale, and it’s a big boy. Fossils from the creature were found in Peru a decade ago, but a study released on Wednesday states that it may be the most massive animal in Earth’s history.
Perucetus colossus lived around 38-40 million years ago, during the Eocene epoch. Researchers estimated that the creature was around 66 feet long and weighed between 85 and 340 metric tons. For comparison, the blue whale has been the largest known animal up until now, and the biggest-known specimen weighed around 190 tons.
“The main feature of this animal is certainly the extreme weight, which suggests that evolution can generate organisms that have characteristics that go beyond our imagination,” paleontologist Giovanni Bianucci told Reuters. Bianucci, of the University of Pisa in Italy, is the lead author of the research published in the journal Nature.
Though perucetus colossus’ closest comparison in terms of size is the blue whale, scientists estimate that its body composition was closer to that of a manatee. “Its fat, bloated body may have been more like that of a sirenian than of any living whale,” said Bianucci, referring to the order of aquatic mammals that includes manatees and dugongs. “Among sirenians, due to its giant size and probable similar lifestyle, it could recall Steller’s sea cow, discovered in 1741 and exterminated by humans a few years later.”
The partial skeleton, consisting of 13 vertebrae, four ribs and one hip bone, was excavated more than a decade ago by Mario Urbina from the University of San Marcos’ Natural History Museum in Lima, per the Associated Press. The lack of any cranial or tooth remains made determining the animal’s diet or lifestyle difficult, though scientists were able to make inferences based on its skeletal structure and bone density.
“Because of its heavy skeleton and, most likely, its very voluminous body, this animal was certainly a slow swimmer. This appears to me, at this stage of our knowledge, as a kind of peaceful giant, a bit like a super-sized manatee. It must have been a very impressive animal, but maybe not so scary,” said paleontologist Olivier Lambert of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels.
