Is it the heaviest animal in Earth's history? Team | Skeleton | Earth History
An international research team recently published a paper in the British journal Nature, stating that an ancient giant whale that lived approximately 39 million years ago and is now extinct may have weighed more than a blue whale, earning the title of "heaviest animal in Earth's history.".
After analyzing some skeletal fossils unearthed in Peru, the research team discovered this giant whale with exceptionally heavy bones. This new species is named "Perucetus colosus", which means "giant whales from Peru".
Researchers have found that the skeleton of this ancient giant whale is about 20 meters long, but it is exceptionally heavy. The estimated weight of the complete skeleton is between 5 and 8 tons, which is 2 to 3 times heavier than the 25 meter long blue whale skeleton exhibited at the British Museum of Natural History.
It is estimated that the newly discovered species weighs between 85 and 340 tons, which is comparable to the world's heaviest animal, the blue whale, and may even be higher.
Researchers also say that it is commonly believed that the "massive" size of whales occurred 10 million years ago, and new research breaks previous understanding and helps people further understand the evolution of whales.
According to data from the Guinness World Records website, the blue whale is currently the largest known animal in the world, with a body length of up to 30 meters, equivalent to the length of a Boeing 737 aircraft; The weight can reach 200 tons, about 20 times the weight of Tyrannosaurus Rex.