What is a Perucetus colossus? Whale fossil found in Peru may be of the heaviest animal on Earth

Fossils of the Perucetus colossus found in Peru have turned out to be an incredible discovery as the ancient whale is speculated to have allegedly been the heaviest animal in Earth's history. The animal is speculated to have weighed up to 340 metric tonnes, which is much heavier than any animal that ever existed, including the dinosaurs and the Blue whale.

The Goliath of an animal is speculated to have lived around 38-40 million years ago. The discovery of the fossils is not new, as it was done 13 years ago. But the difficulties in unearthing and transportation, along with the extensive study of the fossils, meant that definitive results could only be provided on Wednesday, August 2.

The Perucetus colossus' name translates to "colossal Peruvian whale" as it was discovered in the Ica desert in Peru, a region famous for its rich marine fossil remains. Its vertebrae were first discovered by Paleontologist Mario Urbina a decade ago. On Wednesday, August 2, the fossil was presented to the public at the Natural History Museum of Lima in Peru.

Dr. Mario Urbina's discovery team co-worker, Dr. Eli Amson, talked about the difficulties in the discovery of such a large creature:

"The fossils were actually discovered 13 years ago, but their size and shape meant it took three years just to get them to Lima (the capital of Peru), where they've been studied ever since."

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The Unusual enormity of the colossal Peruvian whale

Scientists speculate that the Perucetus colossus could have been the heaviest animal on Earth. The Perucetus colossus was around 20m long and weighed between 85 and 340 metric tonnes, with an average estimate of 180 metric tonnes.

The Blue Whale had indisputably held the title of heaviest animal that ever lived for a long time. The heaviest known blue whale weighed a whopping 190 metric tonnes. The Blue whale is still much longer than the Perucetus colossus at 33.5m.

Compared to dinosaurs, the Blue Whale and the Perucetus colossus weigh indisputably more. The heaviest known dinosaur is the Argentinosaurus, a 95 million-year-old Argentinian herbivore speculated to have weighed 76 tonnes.

Currently, 13 vertebrae from the backbone of the Perucetus colossus, a part of the hip bone, and four ribs have been unearthed. The animal's bones are stated to be extremely dense, unusually voluminous, and inflated. Their rock-like appearance is due to the fact that, unlike the regular spongy structure, the bones contained deposits that filled up the pores.

Another co-worker on the discovery team, Dr. Rebecca Bennion, was stunned by the mind-blowing nature of the Perucetus colossus' bone density.

"Each vertebra weighs over 100kg, which is just completely mind-blowing," she stated.

"The team that drilled into the centre of some of these vertebrae to work out the bone density - the bone was so dense, it broke the drill on the first attempt," she added.

Due to the lack of teeth and mouth remains, speculation on the animal's diet is not definitive. However, it is believed that the Perucetus colossus was not an active predator but a slow-moving scavenger in shallow waters. This is due to their extremely dense bone structure and extra growth on the exterior and forelimbs.

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