'White whale' discovered in depths of the Smithsonian

'White whale' discovered in depths of the Smithsonian

By Kate Seamons
Published December 10, 2015
[173]Newser
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In this reconstruction, a pod of Albicetus travel together through the
Miocene Pacific Ocean, surfacing occasionally to breathe. Modern sperm
whales are also known for forming these tight-knit groups, composed
mainly of females and their calves. (Credit: A. Boersma)

In this reconstruction, a pod of Albicetus travel together through the
Miocene Pacific Ocean, surfacing occasionally to breathe. Modern sperm
whales are also known for forming these tight-knit groups, composed
mainly of females and their calves. (Credit: A. Boersma)

It's quite the epic timeline: Some 15 million years ago, the creature
swam in our oceans. In the 1880s, its remains were found in California.
In 1925, Remington Kellogg classified it in an extinct genus of walrus.

Now, nine decades later, researchers with the Smithsonian's National
Museum of Natural History say the fossil has been rediscoveredâ€"as a
white whale. As [179]Smithsonian reports, Kellogg based his walrus
assumption on the skull's large tooth.

But the specimen's true identity came to light thanks to marine mammals
curator Nicholas Pyenson, who 10 years ago as a student "made a trip to
the Smithsonian, and there was this big skull..." Realizing nothing had
been published on it since 1925, he and Alexandra Boersma dug in and
soon found they had on their hands something new, as they described
Wednesday in [180]PLOS One: the Albicetus oxymycterus. As a [181]press
release explains, the new genus of ancient sperm whale, Albicetus,
means "white whale," a name that's a nod to Moby Dick and so given
thanks to the fossil's bone-white color.

As for that tooth, [182]PLOS Blogs reports that the sperm whale is not
only toothed, but the largest toothed predator currently living. But it
features just one set of bottom teeth, used primarily for seizing or
tearing prey, while the fossil features an upper row.

It's possible, then, that the ancient version ate seals or smaller
whales, something today's sperm whales don't do (they mainly swallow
squid whole). Per Boersma, the ancient teeth indicate an evolutionary
shift; "they changed their feeding strategy." Another evolutionary
change: Though modern sperm whales reach some 60 feet in length, the
Albicetus oxymycterus is believed to have been at most a third that
long, notes Smithsonian.

(These baby whale killers [183]could come from the sky.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: [184]'White Whale'
Discovered in Depths of the Smithsonian

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