Earliest Mysticete from the Late Eocene of Peru Sheds New Light on the Origin of Baleen Whales

• Published in: Current Biology
• Main Authors: Lambert, Olivier, Martínez-Cáceres, Manuel, Bianucci, Giovanni, Di Celma, Claudio, Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo, Steurbaut, Etienne, Urbina, Mario, De Muizon, Christian
• Other Authors: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra Pisa, University of Pisa - Università di Pisa, Università degli Studi di Camerino (UNICAM), Museo de Historia Natural de Lima (MHN), Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), Catholic University of Leuven - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2017
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.PG]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Paleontology; Pisco; Antarc*; Antarctica; baleen whales; toothed whales
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02612083; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.04.026

International audience Although combined molecular and morphological analyses point to a late middle Eocene (38–39 million years ago) origin for the clade Neoceti (Odontoceti, echolocating toothed whales plus Mysticeti, baleen whales, and relatives), the oldest known mysticete fossil dates from the...