Peruvian fossil challenges blue whales for size

Researchers have discovered a fresh contender for the title of biggest mammal ever to have lived on Earth. It’s an old, long-extinct whale that would have weighed close to 200 tons. According to specialists, only a few of the largest known blue whale specimens could have matched its mass. The name Perucetus colossus comes from the fossilized bones of the species that were discovered in a southern Peruvian desert. Dating of the sediments around the remains suggests it lived about 39 million years ago. Dr. Eli Amson, a colleague on the discovery team headed by Palaeontologist Dr. Mario Urbina, stated, “The fossils were actually discovered 13 years ago, but their size and shape meant it took three years just to get them to Lima (the capital of Peru), where they’ve been studied ever since.