A set of fossils found on the Surf Coast of Victoria, Australia, allowed the identification of a new species of prehistoric whale with unique adaptations for hunting, such as large frontal eyes and sharp teeth, providing new clues about the evolution of primitive marine mammals.
The species was named Janjucetus dullardi, in honor of Ross Dullard, a local resident who found the fossil in 2019 while walking on the beach. Recognizing its scientific value, Dullard donated it to the Museums Victoria Research Institute, where it was studied in depth.
A fast predator in the warm seas of the Oligocene
According to the study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Janjucetus dullardi lived about 26 million years ago. It had a body the size of a modern dolphin, designed for active hunting.
“Imagine a shark version of a baleen whale: small, friendly in appearance, but absolutely lethal,” explained Ruairidh Duncan, the study’s lead author.
The fossil reveals a short snout, eyes the size of a tennis ball</strong facing forward, and a sharp dentition, features that make it a visual predator adapted to the shallow seas of the ancient Victoria region.
A key piece in the evolutionary puzzle of whales
Janjucetus dullardi belongs to the group of mammalodontids, primitive whales that lived between 30 and 23 million years ago. This juvenile specimen, just over 2 meters long, represents the third known species in Victoria and only the fourth in the world.
It is also the first fossil of its kind that preserves in detail both the teeth and the structures of the inner ear, allowing the study of how these whales fed, heard, and moved in the water.
State-of-the-art technology to explore the ear of a prehistoric whale
Computed tomography scans reveal how this marine hunter perceived its environment.
Thanks to the use of advanced scans, researchers were able to analyze the ear bones of Janjucetus. This provides information on its acoustic perception and its behavior in the marine environment.
“This fossil helps us understand how ancient whales grew and transformed, and how evolution shaped their bodies to adapt to the ocean,” said Erich Fitzgerald, Chief Curator of Museums Victoria.
Australia, cradle of unusual whales
Researchers highlight that this area of Australia was “the cradle of some of the strangest whales in history.”
The discovery of Janjucetus dullardi opens a new phase of paleontological discoveries, revealing unexpected twists in the history of how whales came to dominate the oceans.
