How whales used to filter: exceptionally preserved baleen in a Miocene cetotheriid

• Published in: Journal of Anatomy
• Main Authors: Marx, F.G., Collareta, A., Gioncada, A., Post, K., Lambert, O., Bonaccorsi, E., Urbina, M., Bianucci, G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Cetotheriidae; Mysticeti [baleen whales]; Piscobalaena; Pisco; baleen whales
• Online Access: https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/311694.pdf

Baleen is a comb-like structure that enables mysticete whales to bulk feed on vast quantities of small prey, and ultimately allowed them to become the largest animals on Earth. Because baleen rarely fossilises, extremely little is known about its evolution, structure and function outside the living...