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We had a great storm and I found these fossils this morning. Would anybody be so kind as to help identify the species of whale and what the age of these fossils might be?
Thank you!
I don’t know that you’ll be able to get to species, but my guess is you’ve got an adult baleen whale (a filter feeder) and that the age is Miocene (~20-5 million years old). Where did you find them? @jnance @rboessenecker is there anything you can add from these pictures?
@vperez Thank you for the information i found them in Cape Town this morning as you might know we had a massive storm for a couple of days .When i walked on the beach this morning they where all lying in close proximity from each other
Hey @lcone, check out this forum post! Thought you’d find it interesting!
It’s pretty difficult to identify species material from beach finds. I was curious the location and guessed maybe the California coast because of the kelp and mountains in the background? I find very similar-looking material in the coastal rivers around Charleston, SC (SE U.S.). Judging from the dog footprint they are not from a huge whale, but it appears to be a very nice assortment of vertebrae from different parts of the skeleton. At least two thoracic, and several lumbar, a few caudal. From the size variation I think that several individuals may be represented here, and one small vert may be porpoise. I, too, would guess baleen on the whale ones.
I’m wondering if it came from the same area as the West Coast Fossil Park or material from there was transported by the storm. If so, the bones are about 5-7 million years old.
Hi Lee @lcone –
Wish it was California, but I found them in Cape Town, South Africa — still a stunning city though :-). Thank you for the information.
@vperez I do not think it could be from there as that fossil park is not close to the ocean. The area where I picked up the whale fossils I have also found some fossil shark teeth there on some occasions. (Always after some rough weather there is something to pick up 🙂
What are your thoughts on this find, @rboessenecker? 🙂
Hi all, sorry for the delayed response! Thanks for tagging me, Eleanor. Definitely from a large cetacean, and if Pliocene or late Miocene, baleen whale is the most likely possibility. Unfortunately as @lcone stated above, it’s not really possible to say much more about the specimens.
HOWEVER – please keep your eyes peeled for skull fragments and earbones! South Africa has a limited but very critical assemblage of marine mammals that is poorly documented, but efforts by my colleauge Romala Govender are changing that. If you find anything further that is more diagnostic (i.e. skull bits and earbones), then I strongly recommend contacting Dr. Govender at Iziko Museums.
Thank you for the reply, @rboessenecker – when I go down next, I will have a look for some more and post here.
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