Whale fossil found off S.I.
A fossilised skull of a whale recently discovered off the east coast of the South Island is millions of years old.
The upper part of the skull of a whale of the Ziphiidae family was pulled from the sea on the Chatham Rise by Korean fishermen fishing for orange roughy. United Fisheries passed the skull to the Canterbury Museum for study.
The curator of vertebrate zoology at the museum, Mr Geoff Tunnicliffe, said the skull could be up to 10 million years old and might be from an unknown species. The
closest living species with a comparable skull structure is thought to be the southern four-toothed whale which is a member of the genus Berardius. Mr Tunnicliffe said the find was exciting because it was unusual to see such a large section of skull intact. The fossilised skull lay in 100 fathoms of water before being pulled up in a net by the Korean fishing boat Penta Marine. The skull measures 780 mm in length and weighs 15.5 kg. Mr Tunnicliffe said it would not be displayed immediately.
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Press, 29 September 1988, Page 9
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183Whale fossil found off S.I. Press, 29 September 1988, Page 9
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