![green epidote crystal val malenco valtellina italy green epidote crystal val malenco valtellina italy](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/macro/thumbs/thumbs_epidoto-sissone.jpg)
![vesuvianite val malenco valtellina italy vesuvianite val malenco valtellina italy](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/macro/thumbs/thumbs_vesuviana-val-lanterna-3.jpg)
![vesuvianite val malenco valtellina italy vesuvianite val malenco valtellina italy](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/macro/thumbs/thumbs_vesuviana-val-lanterna.jpg)
![geode calcedonio brasil (2).JPG geode calcedonio brasil (2).JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/south-america/thumbs/thumbs_geode-calcedonio-brasil-2.jpg)
![geode calcedonio brasil.JPG geode calcedonio brasil.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/south-america/thumbs/thumbs_geode-calcedonio-brasil.jpg)
![magnetite brasil.JPG magnetite brasil.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/south-america/thumbs/thumbs_magnetite-brasil.jpg)
![quartz japanese geminate brasil.JPG quartz japanese geminate brasil.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/south-america/thumbs/thumbs_quartz-japanese-geminate-brasil.jpg)
![azurite morocco.JPG azurite morocco.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/africa/thumbs/thumbs_azurite-morocco-2.jpg)
![calcite morocco.JPG calcite morocco.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/africa/thumbs/thumbs_calcite-morocco.jpg)
![carollite.JPG carollite.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/africa/thumbs/thumbs_carollite.jpg)
![celestine madagascar.JPG celestine madagascar.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/africa/thumbs/thumbs_celestine-madagascar.jpg)
![cerussite barite morocco.JPG cerussite barite morocco.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/africa/thumbs/thumbs_cerussite-barite-morocco.jpg)
![malachite Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) Lukuni Mine in Katanga Province.JPG malachite Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) Lukuni Mine in Katanga Province.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/africa/thumbs/thumbs_malachite-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-formerly-zaire-lukuni-mine-in-katanga-province.jpg)
![vanadinite morocco.JPG vanadinite morocco.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/africa/thumbs/thumbs_vanadinite-morocco.jpg)
![almandine gilgit pakistan.JPG almandine gilgit pakistan.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_almandine-gilgit-pakistan.jpg)
![fluorite china.JPG fluorite china.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_fluorite-china.jpg)
![fluorite india.JPG fluorite india.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_fluorite-india.jpg)
![hematite rose on quartz china.JPG hematite rose on quartz china.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_hematite-rose-on-quartz-china.jpg)
![lapislazzuli afganistan.JPG lapislazzuli afganistan.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_lapislazzuli-afganistan.jpg)
![quartz epidote china.JPG quartz epidote china.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_quartz-epidote-china.jpg)
![topaz pakistan.JPG topaz pakistan.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_topaz-pakistan.jpg)
![topaz quartz pakistan.JPG topaz quartz pakistan.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_topaz-quartz-pakistan.jpg)
![tormaline pakistan.JPG tormaline pakistan.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_tormaline-pakistan.jpg)
![zircone pakistan.JPG zircone pakistan.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/asia/thumbs/thumbs_zircone-pakistan.jpg)
![analcime sardegna,Italy.JPG analcime sardegna,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_analcime-sardegnaitaly.jpg)
![andradite garnet isola d'elba,Italy.JPG andradite garnet isola d'elba,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_andradite-garnet-isola-delbaitaly.jpg)
![aragonite spagna.JPG aragonite spagna.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_aragonite-spain.jpg)
![calcite italy.JPG calcite italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_calcite-italy.jpg)
![calcite valtellina,Italy (2).JPG calcite valtellina,Italy (2).JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_calcite-valtellinaitaly-2.jpg)
![calcite valtellina,Italy (4).JPG calcite valtellina,Italy (4).JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_calcite-valtellinaitaly-4.jpg)
![calcite valtellina,Italy.JPG calcite valtellina,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_calcite-valtellinaitaly.jpg)
![epidote valmalenco,Italy.JPG epidote valmalenco,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_epidote-valmalencoitaly.jpg)
![grossularia liguria,Italy.JPG grossularia liguria,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_grossularia-liguriaitaly.jpg)
![hessonite adamello,Italy.JPG hessonite adamello,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_hessonite-adamelloitaly.jpg)
![orthoclase quartz elba island,Italy.JPG orthoclase quartz elba island,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_orthoclase-quartz-elba-islanditaly.jpg)
![pyromorphite sardegna,Italy.JPG pyromorphite sardegna,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_pyromorphite-sardegnaitaly.jpg)
![quartz emilia romagna,Italy.JPG quartz emilia romagna,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_quartz-emilia-romagnaitaly.jpg)
![quartz formazza,Italy.JPG quartz formazza,Italy.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_quartz-formazzaitaly.jpg)
![quartz rodocrosite romania.JPG quartz rodocrosite romania.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/europe/thumbs/thumbs_quartz-rodocrosite-romania.jpg)
![apatite messico.JPG apatite messico.JPG](https://www.mineralfossil.com/wp-content/gallery/north-america/thumbs/thumbs_apatite-messico.jpg)
![]() |
Geologist brushes the fossilized jaw of a whale lying on the desert pavement of Ocucaje, 310 km south of Lima |
Paleontologists in Peru have unearthed the fossil of a 40 million-year-old “walking whale.”
Found in the Ocucaje Desert in southern Peru, the fossils belong to a group called Achaeocetes, or ancient whales, that possess both land- and sea-dwelling characteristics. Over time, the ancient land animals adapted to water environments where their legs became fin-like and their bodies began to resemble modern sea mammals like dolphins and whales, ITN reports.
“We already knew about the paleontological richness of Ocucaje dating back 10 million to 12 million years,” paleontologist Rodolfo Salas said about the find. “Now we can say that the most important primitive sea mammal deposit in South America is at Ocucaje.”
The whale’s remains are the oldest ever found in South America; other whale fossils from this time period have been found in Egypt, Pakistan, India and North America, euronews reports. The skull, which resembles that of a wolf or crocodile, may help researchers understand the link between modern whales and their ancestors.
The first whale ancestor was a hairy, four-legged omnivore that evolved into a range of amphibious species 50 million years ago, scientists say. They lost their spine and hind legs 5 million years later.
This marks the second discovery of an ancient whale fossil this year. In August, on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia, scientists excavated a 15 million-year-old whale skull measuring about six feet long, the Washington Post reports. The skeleton, believed to come from an extinct baleen whale, was a rare find.
![]() |
This is the first time that such an old sea mammal has been found in South America |
“To have such a large and complete specimen is pretty uncommon,” John Nance, the paleontology collections manager at the Calvert Marine Museum in Southern Maryland, said. “In a marine environment, the bones are usually scavenged and scattered all about,” he said. “[With this,] the really interesting thing is we have all the postcranial material — the vertebrae, the ribs, the flipper bones. It will give us a more complete picture of what these animals looked like.”
Another standout among the 15 or more ancient whale fossils that have been discovered in the Ocucaje desert was the 3.6 million-year-old remains of a minke whale. “It is a species known only in Peru, paleontologist Cesar Chacaltana told the Daily Mail about the fossil, which weighed about 1,100 pounds and measured 19 feet long. And there are more specimens to be found here, paleontologists believe. “There is probably a greater number of fossils in the sand, but it takes high-tech equipment to locate and recover them,” Chacaltana said.