An identified ancient whale from New Zealand is giving paleontologists a clearer view of the early history of baleen whales. Named Toipahautea waitaki, the extinct species lived about 27.5 million years ago and was found in the Hakataramea Valley.
The preserved remains, made up of a skull and associated bones, was recovered from the Kokoamu Greensand, a fossil-bearing rock unit in South Canterbury and the Waitaki district. At that time, during the Oligocene, New Zealand was an archipelago surrounded by shallow, productive seas. The University of Otago reported that their research describes a previously unknown genus and species of extinct baleen whale.
A New Species From The Oligocene Seas
The fossil was named Toipahautea waitaki, a Māori name translated as a baleen-origin whale from the Waitaki region. The species belongs to the baleen whales, or Mysticeti, a group that includes large ancient mysticete without teeth, using baleen plates in the upper jaw to filter food such as krill from seawater.
The remains dates to about 27.5 million years ago, within the Oligocene period,which extended from around 33.9 million to 23 million years ago. This places the animal near the early history of living baleen whales, including minke whales and right whales.
“This is a fantastic fossil find from a fascinating period of Earth’s history, when early whales were extremely diverse,” said David Hocking, who specializes in the evolution of aquatic mammals, is based at Monash University in Melbourne.
Professor Ewan Fordyceof the University of Otago described the discovery as significant for New Zealand’s fossil history.
“This is a pretty old whale that goes almost halfway back to the age of the dinosaurs. We are tracking whale history back through time,” he explained in an university statement.
A Compact Whale With Revealing Bones
Although the skeleton was disarticulated when it was excavated, the bones were found closely associated, giving researchers enough material to study the animal with precision. The highly diagnostic earbones were preserved, which helped the paleontologists identify the marine mammal and support the naming of a new genus and species.
The skull measured about one meter long, while the body was about five meters in length. Professor Fordyce said the prehistoric cetacean was “about half the size of an adult minke whale,” making it a reasonably small species compared with many living baleen whales.
Its jaws were toothless, long, and narrow. The source reports that this suggests Toipahautea waitaki fed in a similar way to modern-day minke whales, taking in seawater and filtering food with baleen rather than using teeth.
A Fossil Collected Decades Before Its Name
The fossil was recovered in January 1988, during fieldwork in the Hakataramea Valley, but it was only worked up in recent years. Dr. Cheng-Hsiu Tsai, now at National Taiwan University, began the thesis research that supplied the analytical framework used to identify and name the marine giant.
The researchers could not determine how the animal died. Professor Fordyce said it could have been attacked by a shark, stranded on a beach, or died of disease, before sinking to the seafloor and becoming a surface where coral and other organisms could grow.
The paper published in Royal Society Open Science stated that the fossil helps anchor the modern baleen whale lineage to at least 27.5 million years ago. He expected older species may still be identified, but for now this prehistoric cetacean gives researchers a firm marker in the deep history of these giant predators.
