[Animals] This colossal extinct whale was the heaviest animal to ever live

[BirSaNN]

Paleontologists in Peru have described an ancient species of whale that was way heavier than a blue whale.

A colossal ancient species of whale that lived 39 million years ago was a true heavyweight, weighing more than double a blue whale and likely earning itself the title as the heaviest known animal to have ever lived. 

The newly described basilosaurid (a family of extinct cetaceans), called Perucetus colossus, eclipsed blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) in sheer weight with an estimated body mass of between 187,000 to 750,000 pounds (85,000 to 340,000 kilograms). It had an estimated body length of about 66 feet (20 meters) — longer than a lane at a bowling alley, according to a new study published Wednesday (Aug. 2) in the journal Nature.

Paleontologists discovered the partial skeletal remains of the monstrous marine mammal 30 years ago in what is now Ica Province in southern Peru. Since then, they've unearthed 13 vertebrae, four ribs and a hip bone, according to a statement.

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"[One of my co-authors] was looking for fossils in the desert in Peru and saw an outcropping of bones," lead author Eli Amson, a paleontologist and curator of fossil mammals at the Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History in Germany, told Live Science. "Digging out the fossils took a lot of time because of their sheer size. Each vertebra alone weighs 150 kilos [330 pounds]."

Related: 'Truly gigantic' Jurassic sea monster remains discovered by chance in museum

Researchers can only estimate how enormous P. colossus was using the limited number of bones they unearthed, as much of the animal's remains have decayed over time — including all of its soft tissues. 

However, the bones they did recover were very dense, meaning they weighed a lot. To compensate for this heavy skeleton, the team believes the whale's soft tissues were likely lighter in weight than the bones, offsetting its heavy skeleton and helping it become more buoyant, according to the study.

link: https://www.livescience.com/animals/whales/this-colossal-extinct-whale-was-the-heaviest-animal-to-ever-live