The remains of the world's largest dolphin were found in the Peruvian Amazon. The extinct species was reportedly distantly related to the endangered river dolphin.
Fossils of the World's Largest Dolphin Discovered
Paleontologists at the University of Zurich (UZH) in Switzerland found the remains of the world's largest dolphin. It measured up to 11 feet long and reportedly swam the oceans over 16 million years ago.
The team named the new species Pebanista yacurun from the mythical people called Tacuruna. The Tacuruna are a fabled people who are supposed to reside in underwater towns across the Amazon basin.
Aldo Benites-Palomino, PhD Candidate, Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, said a formerly "insanely big" lake, "almost like a little ocean in the middle of the jungle," covered the area where he and his team discovered the fossil. Due to the dolphin's small eye sockets, they assumed it had poor eyesight.
"We know that it was living in really muddy waters because its eyes started to reduce in size," he said.
Like many modern-day river dolphin species, Pebanista's extended snout and large number of teeth suggested that it was a fish-eating dolphin.
Instead of finding that the dolphin was closely connected to the contemporary Amazon river dolphin, Benites-Palomino and his team discovered it was more akin to the South Asian river dolphin due to the high crests on its head that aid in echolocation.
The dolphin's head was initially found by scientists after they observed the fossil sticking out of the Napo River embankment in Peru in 2018.
Benites-Palomino described the remaining river dolphins as "the remnants of what were once greatly diverse marine dolphin groups," noting that freshwater rivers are thought to have replaced oceans as their primary source of food.
The Amazon region of Peru had a completely different topography when the ancient dolphins roamed the seas; huge lakes and swamps encompassed Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, and Colombia.
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About Amazon River Dolphin
The Amazon river dolphins are also called pink river dolphins or botos. They are the largest species of river dolphins. Males are 50% larger than females and can weigh more than 450 pounds.
A dolphin's maximum size at maturity is nine feet (2.7 meters), its maximum weight is four hundred pounds (181 kilograms), and its maximum lifespan is 30 years.
With over 53 species of food, including piranhas, toothed whales have the most diverse diet of any whale species, especially during the rainy season. They also have a 40% bigger brain capacity than humans.
They spend much time underwater, which adds to their mythological character. They are also quiet and reticent.
However, they are highly adaptable. They can tilt their heads ninety degrees to avoid impediments like tree trunks and stones. They can also turn more precisely by using one flipper to swim forward and the other to paddle backward.
They often swim back to gain a better view of the bottom of the river. Their acute echolocation talents enable them to quickly navigate the muddy waters of the Amazon to find their prey, even though their eyes are small. They also have exceptional underwater and overhead eyesight.
The IUCN Red List classified Amazon pink river dolphins as "endangered" in 2018.
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