Scientists find skull of enormous ancient dolphin in Amazon

Interesting 10:19 21.03.2024

Scientists have discovered the fossilised skull of a giant river dolphin, from a species thought to have fled the ocean and sought refuge in Peru’s Amazonian rivers 16m years ago. The extinct species would have measured up to 3.5 metres long, making it the largest river dolphin ever found, Ednews reports via The Guardian.

The discovery of this new species, Pebanista yacuruna, highlights the looming risks to the world’s remaining river dolphins, all of which face similar extinction threats in the next 20 to 40 years, according to the lead author of new research published in Science Advances today. Aldo Benites-Palomino said it belonged to the Platanistoidea family of dolphins commonly found in oceans between 24m and 16m years ago.

Surviving river dolphins were “the remnants of what were once greatly diverse marine dolphin groups”, he said, which were thought to have left the oceans to find new food sources in freshwater rivers.

“Rivers are the escape valve … for the ancient fossil we found, and it is the same for all river dolphins living today.”

Benites-Palomino discovered the fossil in Peru in 2018 when he was still an undergraduate. He is now working on a doctorate at the University of Zurich’s department of paleontology, and says the research paper was delayed by the pandemic.

He first spotted part of the fossil, a fragment of jaw, while walking with a colleague. “As soon as I recognised it, I saw the teeth sockets. I screamed, ‘this is a dolphin.’ We could not believe it.

“Then we realised it was not related to the Amazon river pink dolphin,” he said. “We [had] found an animal, a giant, whose closest living relative is 10,000km away in south-east Asia.”

Marcelo R Sánchez-Villagra, director of Zurich University’s paleontology department, said the find was intriguing. “After two decades of work in South America, we had found several giant forms from the region, but this is the first dolphin of its kind,” he said.

The fossil, said Benites-Palomino, was remarkable both for its size and because it had no links to the river dolphins that now swim in the waters it once inhabited.

A shared problem facing river dolphins – including the fossil’s nearest living relatives, which swim in the Ganges and Indus rivers – is the imminent risk of extinction. Urban development, pollution and mining were the key causes, he said, and had already driven the Yangtze river dolphin to extinction.

 

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

EU to provide Kyiv with €30.6B in support in 2025
16:40 27.06.2025
Simon Stiell calls for global cooperation in face of climate crisis
16:00 27.06.2025
IDF says fighter jets struck Hezbollah facility in southern Lebanon
15:40 27.06.2025
President Ilham Aliyev received credentials of incoming ambassador of Poland
15:05 27.06.2025
Masked Special Forces of Armenia's National Security Service enter territory of Garegin II’s residence
14:55 27.06.2025
Hungary blocks talks on Ukraine’s accession to EU
14:35 27.06.2025
Israel sums up operation against Iran: 11 scientists, about 300 IRGC members killed
14:05 27.06.2025
Trump says his duties bring US $88B in revenue
13:55 27.06.2025
Snow falls in world’s driest desert in Chile
13:25 27.06.2025
Release from the Press Service of the President
13:00 27.06.2025
Australia to prioritize 'national interest' over defense spending, says premier, resists US pressure
12:35 27.06.2025
Chairman of Committee: 'There are broad, strong ties of cooperation, solidarity among religious confessions in Azerbaijan'
12:25 27.06.2025
Price of Azerbaijani oil grows over 1%
12:05 27.06.2025
Over 60 foreigners evacuated from Iran through territory of Azerbaijan
11:45 27.06.2025
European Championship: Azerbaijani judokas win 6 medals on first day
11:25 27.06.2025
UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies’ 62nd session (SB62) concludes today
11:05 27.06.2025
Mukhtar Babayev: New NDCs can be a green light for green investments
10:55 27.06.2025
Former UN General Assembly president presents poem about Nizami Ganjavi at London Climate Action Week
10:35 27.06.2025
WHO delivers 1st medical shipment to Gaza since March 2, calls it 'drop in ocean'
10:20 27.06.2025
Polish lawmakers vote to withdraw from anti-landmine treaty
10:05 27.06.2025
At least 16 killed, 400 injured in Kenya protests: Amnesty International
09:55 27.06.2025
Elchin Amirbayov: South Caucasus faces both challenges, opportunities
09:35 27.06.2025
Senior clergyman under investigation for call for coup in Armenia
09:20 27.06.2025
Gen. Dan Caine: US strikes on Iran are 'culmination' of 15 years of planning
09:05 27.06.2025
Euronews: Baku is platform for global energy dialogue
21:35 26.06.2025
Turkish president believes Iran won't close Strait of Hormuz
21:05 26.06.2025
Boat sinking on Niger-Benin border kills 13
20:45 26.06.2025
Erdogan: Türkiye negotiating its return to F-35 program with partners
20:25 26.06.2025
Paris honors Azerbaijani heroes who fought in France's WWII resistance
20:05 26.06.2025
Global energy CO2 emissions hit new record in 2024
19:45 26.06.2025
UN special rapporteur calls planned election of Myanmar's military junta 'mirage'
19:35 26.06.2025
Iran's supreme leader threatens US
19:20 26.06.2025
Erdogan: Türkiye must create multi-layer air defense system
19:05 26.06.2025
Erdogan says Trump will join Ukraine peace talks in Türkiye if Putin attends
18:45 26.06.2025
Azerbaijan discusses wind energy projects with Chinese company
18:25 26.06.2025
Armenia arrests 15 people on charges of coup attempt
18:15 26.06.2025
EXPLAINER – War with Iran: Financial fallout for Israel, US
18:00 26.06.2025
Turkish president praises Trump for Iran-Israel ceasefire, urges similar push for Gaza, Ukraine conflicts
17:45 26.06.2025
Israeli attacks kill at least 21 people in Gaza, medics say
17:20 26.06.2025
Traditional meeting of EU leaders kicks off in Brussels
17:05 26.06.2025
Hamısı