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Chile - 15 7 million year old whale skeletons found in 15 days

  • 14-11-2011 4:58pm
    #1
    Mickeroo
    Administrators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 32,333 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭


    Just found this on the BBC, pretty substantial fossil bed has been xcavated in the Atacama region of Chile. 15 whole whle skeletons apparently as well as some sharks and seals thrown into the mix too!


    Click here for more.

    There's a bbc news report through that link, sorry I couldn't embed. Lots of significant finds popping up lately it has to be said!
    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    Jagle
    Closed Accounts Posts: 870 ✭✭✭Jagle


    linky no worky


  • #3
    Mickeroo
    Administrators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 32,333 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Mickeroo


    Jagle wrote: »
    linky no worky

    My bad,should be working now.


  • #4
    Jagle
    Closed Accounts Posts: 870 ✭✭✭Jagle


    amazing how we have never found an amount of whale skeletons before, guess when they die they sink all the way down.

    my theory is the water area the animals were in must of been kinda shallow to some degree, had its mouth closed, got trapped died and then the land was pushed up into the mountains


  • #5
    Mickeroo
    Administrators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 32,333 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Mickeroo


    Jagle wrote: »
    amazing how we have never found an amount of whale skeletons before, guess when they die they sink all the way down.

    my theory is the water area the animals were in must of been kinda shallow to some degree, had its mouth closed, got trapped died and then the land was pushed up into the mountains

    I was thinking maybe a delta where the animals got caught up in a lot of sediment?


  • #6
    Jagle
    Closed Accounts Posts: 870 ✭✭✭Jagle


    me too, but they mention sharks and lots of other marine life.

    lets use the example of the Mediterranean.
    Full of sharks, whales and fish, the strait of gibraltar closes from land movement/earthquake/landslide and over the next million years the med gets pushed into the mountains

    the sheer amount of whales and the other fish remains must of been a busy part of the sea


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  • #7
    Adam Khor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,279 ✭✭✭Adam Khor


    http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/11/20/whales-in-desert-fossil-bonanza-poses-mystery/

    Seems that they also found an Odobenocetops in the area.

    EDIT- Oops this had already been posted... :/

    Chile%20Whales%20Big%20Top.jpg


  • #8
    Allosaur
    Registered Users Posts: 128 ✭✭Allosaur


    Mickeroo wrote: »
    I was thinking maybe a delta where the animals got caught up in a lot of sediment?
    At a guess?
    A pod of whales got beached in a muddy delta, half in-half out of the water. Sharks got attracted to the cadavers, and due to the watery, muddy conditions. Bingo instant preditor trap and fossilization.


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