Nature Gunma whale fossil announced as new species

The Gunma Museum of Natural History in Japan has revealed that a whale fossil exhibited since 1996 is a previously unidentified baleen whale species. The fossil, about 10 meters long, was unearthed in 1987 in Peru and dates back 7 to 8 million years. It has been named Incakujira fordycei in honour of a New Zealand geologist who contributed to its discovery and belonged to the rorqual family, including the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale. The Gunma Prefectural Government purchased the fossil in 1991. Ongoing research since 2004, in collaboration with the late Professor Ewan Fordyce of the University of Otago, intensified after the 2016 finding that other whale fossils were part of the new Incakujira genus.

The research led to the finding that the Gunma museum's fossil of what's believed to be a younger specimen than other Incakujira fossils found until now had a larger body and different nose bone position, leading to its categorization as a new species. The museum contends that the discovery offers a glimpse into the diversity of rorquals of the time.

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