TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Researchers have unearthed Taiwan's largest and most complete fossilized whale skeleton, which is estimated to be 85,000 years old.
A team of professors and students from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in cooperation with scholars from the National Museum of Nature Science (NMNS) have excavated a whale fossil skeleton in Pingtung County's Hengchun Township. Researchers say the findings will help scientists understand how whales adapted to environmental changes from the Ice Age to the present.
(NCKU photo)
In a press release issued on Monday (Dec. 5) stating that NCKU earth sciences adjunct professor and NMNS assistant research fellow Yang Tzu-ruei (楊子睿) this summer led a 16-member team comprised of NCKU students, NMNS scholars, foreign scholars, and high school students in excavating a fossilized whale skeleton that was over 70% complete. The university stated that the skeleton represented the second-largest mammal fossil found in Taiwan, following rhino fossils discovered in 1971.
Yang pointed out that the total length of this whale skeleton is over 15 meters. The scapula, maxilla, jaw, and spine are all well-preserved.
(NCKU photo)
Based on a preliminary assessment, researchers believe that the bones belong to either a blue whale or a humpback whale from the "Late Pleistocene" more than 85,000 years ago. He said that both types of whales have been known to be beached along Taiwan's coasts.
Chou Wen-po (周文博), a team member who studies at NCKU's Institute of Archaeology, said Hengchun's Tougou area has a variety of shells, sharks, crabs, and whalebone fossils. In early May, when treasure hunting with local collector Chang Yu-mu (張玉穆), Chou says he stumbled upon four ribs protruding from the soil in a valley. After a preliminary excavation, a large number of bones were soon discovered.
(NCKU photo)
The university noted that during the excavation process, the heaviest whale mandible weighed 334 kilograms and was 223 centimeters long. The members not only ordered a wooden stretcher to transport it, but it had to be carried by eight people at a time, and a total of 12 team members pitched in.
According to Yang, plaster was applied to the bones in order to ensure their preservation. At first, military rucksacks were used to transport the bones on foot. Yang said that the students had to experiment with transportation methods as they dealt with a variety of challenges such as dense vegetation, rugged terrain, hot and humid weather, and swarms of mosquitoes.
(NCKU photo)
Yang stated that the fossilized bones have been safely transported back to the NMNS, where cleaning and research will be conducted. In the future, the researchers look forward to publishing their findings in academic journals and sharing the legacy of Taiwan's natural history with more people.
(NCKU photo)
