Fossils unearthed along Victoria’s Surf Coast have led to the discovery of an ancient whale species with special adaptations for hunting, including large eyes and sharp teeth, shedding light on early marine mammal evolution.
The species has been named Janjucetus dullardi after Victoria local resident Ross Dullard, who found the ancient whale’s fossil fragments in 2019.
Janjucetus dullardi is one of their earliest cousins of modern whales and roamed the seas around 26 million years ago, say researchers from Museums Victoria Research Institute.
Unlike the modern gentle giants, Janjucetus dullardi was a fast, sharp-toothed predator with a compact body about the size of a dolphin built for hunting, according to a new study published in the journal Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
“It’s essentially a little whale with big eyes and a mouth full of sharp, slicing teeth … Imagine the shark-like version of a baleen whale – small and deceptively cute, but definitely not harmless,” said Ruairidh Duncan, lead author of the study,
The prehistoric whale had a short snout, large forward-facing eyes about the size of tennis balls and sharp slicing teeth, researchers say.
Janjucetus dullardi calf and mother (Art by Ruairidh Duncan/Museums Victoria)
The early whale ancestor would have been a compact, yet fearsome sight in the warm, shallow seas of ancient Victoria, scientists noted.
The findings offer insight into the early evolution of baleen whales – the filter-feeding giant mammals cruising through modern oceans.
It also sheds more light on the prehistoric region, now in modern-day Australia, which scientists say was “once a cradle” for some of the most unusual whales in history.
Researchers made the new species discovery based on a partial skull fossil with attached ear bone found in June 2019 by Victoria resident Mr Dullard while walking along the beach.
After recognising its scientific importance, the Victoria resident donated the fossil to Museums Victoria, where researchers carefully studied it in detail.
“This kind of public discovery and its reporting to the museum is vital…Ross’ discovery has unlocked an entire chapter of whale evolution we’ve never seen before. It’s a reminder that world-changing fossils can be found in your own backyard,” said study co-author Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator at Museums Victoria Research Institute.
Scientists found that the fragments belonged to a juvenile specimen just over two metres long.
They concluded that it belonged to a group of early whales known as mammalodontids that lived around 30 to 23 million years ago.
Partial skull and teeth of Janjucetus dullardi (Tom Breakwell/Museums Victoria.)
The latest find marks the third known mammalodontid species from Victoria, and only the fourth found worldwide.
It is also the first of its kind to preserve teeth and inner ear structures in detail, revealing how early whales fed, heard, moved and behaved in the water.
Using advanced CT scans of the ear bones, researchers hope to further understand how the early species sensed its environment for hunting and navigating the oceans.
“This fossil opens a window into how ancient whales grew and changed, and how evolution shaped their bodies as they adapted to life in the sea,” Dr Fitzgerald said.
‘We’re entering a new phase of discovery. This region is rewriting the story of how whales came to rule the oceans, with some surprising plot twists!” he added,
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