Paula Bayarte Lima, 17 The fossil of a skull of a predatory sea monster that inhabited Peruvian waters 36 million years ago was found in the Ocucaje Desert by paleontologists of the National University San Marcos, who presented it at the Museum of Natural History in Lima with the certainty that it will shed light on the evolution of cetaceans. “We call it a sea monster because of its appearance, it is an animal that has huge teeth, especially molars and sharp canines, it was a predator of the seas that surely fed on any prey within its reach,” Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, in charge of the Department of Paleontology at the Museum of Natural History in Lima, explained to Efe. The Ocucaje Basilosaur, from the family of “Cynthiacetus, Ocucajea and Supyacetus”, is the name of this ancient cetacean, which will now be possible to investigate further, help identify new fossils and contribute to the completion of studies of the evolution of these species. All thanks to this 1.35 meter long skull in very good condition. The species has an aspect that distances itself from contemporary cetaceans such as whales. It exceeded 12 meters in length and was a predator at the top of the food chain. “It could be compared to the killer whale or the white shark of our day,” explained Salas-Gismondi. “Maybe this skull belongs to a new species of cetaceans, that makes us think that it can have great scientific value, it makes us imagine that there was a great diversity in the seas of that time that we don't know yet and that there is still a lot to explore,” said Salas-Gismondi. THE DESERT THAT WAS OCEAN The Ocucaje Desert is located in the region of Ica, about 350 kilometers from Lima, and was an ocean that dried up 4 million years ago due to Andean growth, which lifted the seabed to the surface. At that time, it was covered with sand, so, according to experts, the Ocucaje houses fossils in a very good state of conservation. The skull, which will be exhibited this Friday at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Lima, was found in rocks 36 million years old and Mario Urbina, the paleontologist who discovered the piece together with his team, had to drill up to six meters of stone to access it. “The hardness of the rock and the fragility of such an ancient fossil added difficulty in extracting the skull,” said Urbina, stating that excavation work will continue until the remains of the entire body of the sea monster are obtained. “Paleontology is not a dead science,” Urbina said, noting that this Peruvian desert has many more fossils of ocucaje basilosaurs and that this large skull will attract the attention of the scientific world and visitors because “there is nothing like it in the world.” Both researchers agreed to point out the value of the find internationally, since other fossils of cetaceans as ancient are pieces and not pieces as complete and as well preserved as the one found in Ocucaje, which preserves all the teeth. This detail allows us to better understand the anatomy and feeding of the late Eocene animal. “This species was designed to eat tuna, because it needed fat because it was such a big animal, but sharks, sardines and even penguins were part of its diet,” said Urbina, who said that, near where it found the skull, it has found another even bigger one: “a version of Godzilla.” The two paleontologists, as well as the director of the Lima Museum of Natural History, Niel Valencia Chacón, added that more investment is needed to continue finding these kinds of treasures of the past and pointed out the wealth of fossils of the Ocucaje Desert and all that it can continue to offer. A wealth that, from this Friday, visitors to the Lima museum will be able to admire and fear. CHIEF pbc/gdl/la (photo) (video)
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