This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
This has been a heck of a year for fossil baleen whales. New species are swimming out of the rock and into academic journals at a rapid pace, particularly those that may have played a critical role in the story of how mysticetes evolved to strain the seas. But not all the novel taxa are toothy wonders. From the coastal desert of Peru comes a new genus of baleen whale that belonged to a puzzling group.
Paleontologist Felix Marx and colleagues have named the Miocene whale Tiucetus rosae. So far, it's only known from a partial skull recovered from the 18-9 million year old deposits of Santa Rosa. But not only does the skull represent a species never before seen, but it adds context to a little-known group called cetotheriids.
For a long time, Marx and coauthors point out, cetothere was a wastebasket taxon. That is, it was a group that lots of species were assigned to but seemed to have no real identity in nature. Slowly, however, the wastebasket has been sorted out and cetotheriids - as they're not called - have turned out to be a diverse group of whales that had their heyday in the Miocene. Tiucetus was part of that, Marx and colleagues write, connecting the cetotheriids with a broader array of whales that includes today's pygmy right whale. Piece by piece, the ebb and flow of baleen whale history is coming into focus.
The skull of Tiucetus as seen from above. Credit: Marx et al 2017
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Name: Tiucetus rosae
Meaning: Tiucetus means "sand whale", for the desert along the Peru coastline where the fossils were found, and rosae is for Santa Rosa.
Age: Miocene, between 18 and 9 million years ago.
Where in the world?: Santa Rosa, Peru.
What sort of organism?: A baleen whale.
How much of the organism’s is known?: A partial skull
References:
Marx, F., Lambert, O., de Muizon, C. 2017. A new Miocene baleen whale from Peru deciphers the dawn of cetotheriids. Royal Society Open Science. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170560
Previous Paleo Profiles:
The Light-Footed Lizard The Maoming Cat Knight’s Egyptian Bat The La Luna Snake The Rio do Rasto Tooth Bob Weir's Otter Egypt's Canine Beast The Vastan Mine Tapir Pangu's Wing The Dawn Megamouth The Genga Lizard The Micro Lion The Mystery Titanosaur The Echo Hunter The Lo Hueco Titan The Three-Branched Cicada The Monster of Minden The Pig-Footed Bandicoot Hayden's Rattlesnake Demon The Evasive Ostrich Seer The Paradoxical Mega Shark The Tiny Beardogs The Armored Fish King North America's Pangolin The Invisible-Tusked Elephant The Mud Dragon The Spike-Toothed Salmon The Dream Coast Crocodile Buriol's Robber Ozimek's Flyer The Northern Naustoceratopsian The High Arctic Flyer The Tomatillo From the End of the World The Short-Faced Hyena The Mighty Traveler from Egg Mountain Keilhau's Ichthyosaur Mexico's Ancient Horned Face Mauricio Fernández's Plesiosaur New Zealand's Giant Dawn Penguin The Orange Sea Lion Mongolia's Ginkgo Cousin The Geni River Frog Isabel Berry's Dinosaur The Whale Caiman The Moab Lizard Yang Zhongjian's Lizard The Little Anubis The Shuangbai Lizard The Wyvern Dinosaur The "Need Helmet" Dinosaur The Jianianhua Dragon The Liaoning Hunter The Dalian Lizard Crompton's Aleodon Jenkins' Amphibian Serpent From the Chinle The Large Ancestor Lizard The Crown Tooth Currie's Alberta Hunter The Elephant Bird Mimic The Crested Thief The Hiding Hunter The Horned Lizard The Silk Bird The Sieve-Toothed Plesiosaur The Defenseless Snout Burian's Lizard The Small Whaitsiid The Beautiful Bird The Fierce Cat The Older One From Melksham The King of the Miocene Iberian Giraffes Miera's Lizard The Traveling Sloth