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Amazon river dolphins leaping

Endangered river dolphins die in Amazon drought

Over 100 endangered pink river dolphins have died in an area of the Amazon over...
Fin whale

Short and cruel hunt season ends in Iceland

The shortened Icelandic fin whale hunts season has finished with a final total of 23...
Bottlenose dolphins breaching

Landmark report reveals UK wildlife’s devastating decline

With whales and dolphins already facing many threats, a landmark report released this week reveals...
Dolphins with oil rig

Go ahead for new UK oil and gas exploration threatens whales and dolphins

Permission has been granted for the development of the UK's biggest untapped oilfield off Shetland,...

Fossil of new extinct baleen whale discovered in New Zealand

Scientists have discovered a new species of extinct baleen whale after examining a skull and other bones that were discovered on New Zealand’s South Island 30 years ago.

Toipahautea waitaki, is estimated to have been around five metres in length and lived around 27.5 million years ago, making it one of the earliest known baleen whale to have been found so far.

Early whales initially had teeth before some evolved into baleen whales.

A new archaic baleen whale Toipahautea waitaki (early Late Oligocene, New Zealand) and the origins of crown Mysticeti
Cheng-Hsiu Tsai, R. Ewan Fordyce
Royal Society Open Science.
Published 18 April 2018. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.172453

About George Berry

George is a member of WDC's Communications team and website coordinator.