Chile's five-million-year-old whale graveyard explained by scientists
Chile's five-million-year-old whale graveyard explained by scientists
Scientists believe they may have solved the 'sudden-death' whale mystery
that led to so many of the animals being preserved in one location
Heather Saul
Wednesday 26 February 2014
Scientists believe they can now explain the mystery of a graveyard of whales discovered beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile, in what was described as one of the most significant fossil discoveries in recent years.
A report published today in the Royal Society Journal B suggests the animals may have died in four mass strandings after ingesting toxic algae.
The animal carcasses would then have been washed into an estuary before becoming buried by sand over time, preserving the fossils.
Northern Chile’s Atacama Desert has been well-known for preserved whale fossils after the site was discovered during an expansion project of the Pan-American Highway in 2010. Bones could be seen sticking out of rock faces, leading many to nickname the spot Cerro Ballena, or 'whale hill', as a result.
More:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/chiles-fivemillionyearold-whale-graveyard-explained-by-scientists-9153714.html
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