Alabama Teen and Teacher Unearth 34-Million-Year-Old Whale Skull
A 16-year-old student in Alabama, Lindsey Stallworth, discovered a 34-million-year-old whale skull while collecting fossils on her family's farm. She brought her findings to her biology teacher, Drew Gentry, who confirmed the significance of the discovery. The team spent June and July excavating the remains, which are estimated to be from a smaller relative of Alabama's state fossil, Basilosarurus cetoides. The whale, approximately 20 feet long, could take three to four years to fully excavate.