The fossilized remains of a newly discovered Baleen whale species, the Fucaia buelli, may help shed light on how recent species - including the mighty blue and humpback - evolved their unique plates that allow them to filter food from water in place of teeth, according to the Daily Mail.
The fossils date from between 33 and 31 million years ago in the early years of the Oligocene period. The findings were released in the Royal Society's Open Science Journal.
The research was conducted by paleontologists from the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, the University of Washington and the University of Otago, who analyzed 17 isolated teeth and fragments from F. buelli's face. Not only did they explore the varied range of their teeth, which included serrated molars and sharp incisors, they also examined the animal's ear bones. The fossils point to the mammal's size being approximately 6.6 feet long.
The filter system of Baleen whales is located in their mouths, where after the whale takes in water while opening its mouth, it then subsequently pushes the water back out. The system filters food such as krill, and ensures that they remain insidethe mouth to be used as a food source. Despite the fact that these whales typically only possess teeth in the embryo, the presence of teeth in the F. buelli, an ancestral species of Baleen whales, may help scientists fill in the evolutionary gaps that will reveal how their unique filter systems developed.
"The new species represents one of the smallest [baleens] yet described and thus highlights the rather humble origins of the giants that plough the modern oceans," the study reads. "The new material represents the oldest reported [extinct baleen whale], and, crucially, preserves details of the otherwise poorly known dental, ear bone, hyoid and vertebral morphology characterizing this family."
