Today, we announce on Smithsonian's Ocean Portal the publication of the oldest fossil whales from South America, published in the September issue of the Journal of Paleontology. This publication represents the result of several years of work with collaborators in Peru and the United States, including researchers at the Berkeley Geochronology Center and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.
Read more on my Ocean Portal blog, and be sure at catch the gorgeous custom artwork by Carl Buell, featured below.
Eocene whales and penguins off the coast of Peru; artwork by Carl Buell.
Top to bottom: Icadyptes salasiPerudyptes devriesi, named after our collaborator Thomas DeVries; an unnamed protocetid; Ocucajea picklingi; and Supayacetus muizoni.
Correction 15 Sept 2011: We erred in our original identification of the stem penguin flying alongside our charismatic Peruvian archaeocetes. Friend of the show Dan Ksepka, over at March of the Fossil Penguins, noted to me that
"...the species in the artwork appears to be Icadyptes, not Perudyptes based on the size and the color patterns (which of course we don't know, but Kristin [Lamm] chose the reddish collar for Icadyptes and greenish epaulets for Perudyptes). It doesn't bother me, but I thought I'd let you know just in case."
Consider your pinguinos vindicated, Dan!
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