Construction workers were just digging on a mountain in Santa Cruz County, California. They were surprised when they came across fossils during their dig, but it's not unusual to find fossils in a mountainous area. what was extremely odd about this fossil is that it was an almost completely intact fossil of a whale.
Whales in the mountains
How did the whale get there? It's not like it decided it would one day swim to the mountains, and it definitely didn't fly there. Luckily, a paleontologist was on the construction site to monitor the area, and found it to be a 4 million year old whale fossil. This creates the explanation for how the whale came to be there. The whale never moved. It was the earth that did. The tectonic activity in the area caused the well-preserved whale to be pushed all the way up the mountains. …show more content…
They are carefully taking the bones and rock out and encasing them in plaster to ensure this rare fossil's safety. They will then be traveling to Armtrong's work place called Paleo Solutions , which is located in Monrovia, California. There they plan on fully excavating the fossils from the rock so they will be able to study it fully and uncover more information about this animal.
Mysticete Whale
This specific whale is called a mysticete whale, and it is an ancestor of the baleen whale. The length of the whale ran about 25 feet. The scientists are excited for this find due to the fact of how well preserved the whale is. They have found, along with the entire vertebrate, parts of the skull, most of the jaw, arm bones, and shoulder blades. The majority of the time, they are only able to find bits and pieces of the whale. With this new information, they are able to better study how whales evolved, and reveal why whales are the way they are
Whales in the mountains
How did the whale get there? It's not like it decided it would one day swim to the mountains, and it definitely didn't fly there. Luckily, a paleontologist was on the construction site to monitor the area, and found it to be a 4 million year old whale fossil. This creates the explanation for how the whale came to be there. The whale never moved. It was the earth that did. The tectonic activity in the area caused the well-preserved whale to be pushed all the way up the mountains. …show more content…
They are carefully taking the bones and rock out and encasing them in plaster to ensure this rare fossil's safety. They will then be traveling to Armtrong's work place called Paleo Solutions , which is located in Monrovia, California. There they plan on fully excavating the fossils from the rock so they will be able to study it fully and uncover more information about this animal.
Mysticete Whale
This specific whale is called a mysticete whale, and it is an ancestor of the baleen whale. The length of the whale ran about 25 feet. The scientists are excited for this find due to the fact of how well preserved the whale is. They have found, along with the entire vertebrate, parts of the skull, most of the jaw, arm bones, and shoulder blades. The majority of the time, they are only able to find bits and pieces of the whale. With this new information, they are able to better study how whales evolved, and reveal why whales are the way they are