Giant 39-Foot Whale Fossil Unearthed in Southern Thailand—What Secrets Does It Hold About Ancient Oceans?
For Marcus Chua of the National University of Singapore, the most exciting part is what the find tells us about our prehistoric landscape.
Until now, only marine deposits of small fossilized shells or crabs had been found inland in this area. It wasn’t clear whether those were signs of a sea-level change or if they’d been moved by humans. The newly-discovered whale remains most likely indicate a change in the landscape.
Chua explained that the find adds unprecedented evidence of “relatively large sea level changes around 6,000 years to 3,000 years in the Gulf of Thailand, where the shoreline was up to tens of kilometers inland of the present coast.” According to the BBC, he called the remains “a rare find.”
FacebookResearchers have excavated 80 percent of the specimen, including 19 complete vertebrae, five ribs, one shoulder blade, and fins.
While the bones have yet to be carbon dated, researchers are highly confident this Bryde’s whale specimen is at least 3,000 years old, and could be as old as 5,000. These mammals still have a presence in Thailand’s waters, and have become a protected species in recent years due to threats from tourism to fishing equipment.
Today Bryde’s whales feed on schooling fish like anchovies, and prefer waters warmer than 61 degrees Fahrenheit. But when it comes to how these animals evolved, much is left to learn.
“There are few whale subfossils in Asia,” explained Chua, adding that there are even fewer “in such good condition” as the skeleton discovered in Samut Sakhon. Publicly shared by Thailand’s environment minister Varawut Silpa-archa, the initial images clarify just how well-preserved these bones really are.
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