"Surprising Discovery: Ancient Jaw Bone Rewrites Evolutionary History of Largest Whales"
A 19-million-year-old fossil jaw bone discovered in South Australia suggests that the evolution of large baleen whales occurred much earlier than previously thought. The fossil, estimated to be from a nine-meter-long baleen whale, challenges the belief that baleen whales remained relatively small until the ice ages. Fossil finds from the Southern Hemisphere indicate that larger baleen whales may have emerged earlier in their evolutionary history, with the region potentially serving as the cradle of gigantic whale evolution. The findings shed light on the ancient role of whales in the ocean ecosystem and their potential response to global climate change.