Scientists uncover Diamantina whale graveyard in southeast Indian Ocean
A team of scientists just uncovered a massive whale graveyard deep in the Diamantina fracture zone, southeast Indian Ocean.
The site stretches 1,200km and dives over 7,000 meters down. They found fossils more than five million years old and five modern natural whale falls.
Basically, it's an ancient and modern whale hotspot.
Pterocetus diamantinae fossil and minke skeleton
Highlights include a five-metre-long Antarctic minke whale skeleton and the fossilized skull of a brand-new beaked whale species called Pterocetus diamantinae.
The decaying whales are home to all sorts of weird sea life (crustaceans, bone-eating worms, brittle stars), and some could even be undiscovered species.
Dr. Giovanni Bianucci shared that these finds reveal just how much life can thrive in extreme ocean depths.
Site may be whale migration supercorridor
Researchers think this spot might be a "supercorridor" for migrating whales—a kind of underwater highway packed with marine biodiversity.
As Jon Copley from the University of Southampton put it, finding both filter-feeding and deep-diving whales here gives us new clues about how ocean creatures adapt to life way below the surface.