Tag Archives: razorsharp

The newly described Janjucetus dullardi is known from juvenile remains. This illustration depicts a J. dullardi calf with its mother. (Image credit: Artwork by Ruairidh Duncan. Source: Museums Victoria) Scientists have discovered a “deceptively cute” ancient whale with large eyes and razor-sharp teeth that devoured prey off Australia around 26 million years ago. The newly discovered Janjucetus dullardi is one …

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 …

“Small and deceptively cute, but definitely not harmless” is how scientists have described a new species of ancient whale, from a 25-million-year-old fossil found on Victoria’s surf coast. This early species, called Janjucetus dullardi, was an extremely unusual animal, said Dr Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology at Museums Victoria Research Institute. It was tiny – about the size …