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yesterday

Scientists Name Shark-Like Oligocene Whale Janjucetus dullardi

Revealing sensory adaptations in an early toothed mysticete, it points to southeast Australia as a rich source of ancient whale fossils.

An illustration of a Janjucetus dullardi calf with its mother in shallow waters off Australia 26 million years ago.
Image
The partial skull and teeth of Janjucetus dullardi. Photographer: Tom Breakwell.

Overview

  • Researchers from Museums Victoria and Monash University published the formal description of Janjucetus dullardi this August in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
  • The juvenile mammalodontid specimen, measuring about 2–2.2 metres, is the only known fossil to preserve both teeth and inner-ear anatomy among its kind.
  • MicroCT imaging revealed delicate cochlea and ear bone structures that illuminate how early whales heard and hunted in Oligocene seas.
  • As the third mammalodontid identified in Victoria and the fourth worldwide, the discovery underscores the Jan Juc Formation’s status as a hotspot for early whale evolution.
  • Museums Victoria continues detailed analyses and anticipates further findings from Victoria’s Surf Coast, with plans to eventually display the fossil.