A schoolgirl in the American state of Alabama found the skull of an ancient whale of an unknown species on a family farm. Lindy Stallworth, 16, led the dig with her teacher, evolutionary biologist Andrew Gentry. The scientific study was carried out as part of a school project after the girl discovered fossilized shark teeth in the area, the LiveScience portal reported.
After several hours of searching, a scientist and a teenager came across a pair of huge bones. Within a week, they unearthed a large tooth from the lower jaw of a large animal. Gentry sent the photos to colleagues and determined that the remains belonged to an ancient predatory whale.
During the Eocene period, primitive whales lived on the territory of modern Alabama, including Basilosaurus cetoides, which reached a length of 18 meters. However, it is thought that the bones found may belong to a previously unknown species of the Basilosaurus family that lived on the planet approximately 34 million years ago. Source
Source: Port Altele
