Ancient Whales Used Teeth to Filter Out Prey Suggest Fossils
Scientists have posed this question for years, but researchers at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) have provided fossil evidence that may solve the prehistoric mystery.
Instead of chewing, modern cetaceans—whales, dolphins, and porpoises—consume food by one of three processes: relying on suction through the mouth, using teeth to secure prey, or opening their mouth and then thrusting the body and mouth forward.
An artistic reconstruction of the ancient whale, Coronodon havensteini
Credit: Alberto Gennari
The earliest fossil cetaceans, which existed 50 million years ago had teeth, and even baleen whales in utero start, but then stop, to form teeth. Thus it has long been understood that baleen whales have toothed ancestors. However, researchers have often debated whether these whales passed through an evolutionary stage of toothless suction feeders or whether they used teeth for filtering until baleen evolved. In support of the latter theory, NYITCOM Anatomy department researchers Jonathan Geisler, Ph.D., associate professor and chair, and Brian Beatty, Ph.D., associate professor, suggest that an early species of toothed mysticete (the scientific name given to precursors to baleen whales that retained teeth) called Coronodon havensteiniretains a key evolutionary stage that gave rise to today’s baleen whales.
Wear on Coronodon havensteini’s molars indicates the ancient whale used its teeth to filter out prey
Credit: Jonathan Geisler
The ancient remains of Coronodon havensteini were inadvertently discovered in the early 2000s by a scuba diver searching for shark teeth in South Carolina’s Wando River. Instead of finding shark teeth, diver Mark Havenstein, for whom the newly found species is named, discovered the fossilized whale. The specimen now resides in the Mace Brown Museum of Natural History at the College of Charleston, where it has been studied by Geisler, Beatty, and two collaborators from that museum, Robert Boessenecker, Ph.D., and Mace Brown, Ph.D. Found in sediments originating 30 million years ago, Coronodon havensteini is a transitional species between earlier whales that snagged fish with their teeth and modern baleen whales.
The NYITCOM investigators realized this new fossil species offers evidence about the teeth-to-baleen transition. With its skull measuring nearly one meter long, Coronodon havensteini was also larger than many other toothed mysticetes of the time, such as Mammalodon and Aetiocetus, and when compared to other ancient whales, had remarkably large molars that suggested an uncommon feeding behavior.
“This study reminds us that feeding is complex,” said Beatty. “We needed multiple lines of evidence to sort this out. Animals have tried every possible use of a tool at their disposal, and so must we in order to build our understanding of how these whales evolved,” said Beatty.
Continuing their investigation, the researchers will examine closely related species from the Charleston, South Carolina region in search of further evidence.
Contacts and sources:
NYIT (New York Institute of Technology)
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2017/07/ancient-whales-used-teeth-to-filter-out.html
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!
Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!
HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.
Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.
MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)
Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!
Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.
Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).
yeah it is evolution. I mean, they still have a pelvis that they don’t use