Ancient whale once thought to be heaviest animal ever was much lighter than previously believed
A recent study published in Peer J has shed new light on the weight of the ancient cetacean Perucetus colossus, challenging previous estimates that labeled it as the heaviest animal to have ever lived on Earth. Paleontologists from the University of California-Davis and the Smithsonian Institution have revised downwards the earlier estimates made by a team of scholars led by paleontologist Giovanni Bianucci of the University of Pisa.
The studies were based on the analysis of fossil bones recovered in Peru’s Ica desert, which was once underwater and home to the massive Perucetus. The original estimates placed the skeletal mass of the animal at 5-8 tons, with a total body mass reaching up to 340 tons, nearly double the weight of a blue whale.
However, paleobiologist Ryosuke Motani and Nick Pyenson of the Smithsonian Institute conducted a new study that challenges these assumptions. They now believe that a 20-meter-long Perucetus would have weighed just over 110 tons, much less than the previously estimated 270 tons of a blue whale. This new weight would have allowed the ancient cetacean to come to the surface to breathe and move much more freely in the water.
“The new weight allows the cetacean to come to the surface to breathe and recover from a dive like most whales do,” said Motani. This revision in weight estimates could change our understanding of the capabilities and behaviors of these ancient creatures.
To read more on this fascinating discovery visit ANSA.it.