During this period, part of Switzerland, known as the Upper Marine Molasse, was covered by an ocean teeming with prehistoric fish, sharks, dolphins, mussels and sea urchins. Among them were two species of dolphins that scientists have recently been able to identify.
Paleontologists at the University of Zurich made the discovery by examining 300 fossils of whales and dolphins that swam around Switzerland at this time.
Amid assorted vertebrae and teeth were found bones from the inner ear, which are extremely rare but allow individual species to be classified.
“We managed to identify two families of dolphins previously unknown in Switzerland,” paleontologist Gabriel Aguirre said in a statementExternal link.
The extinct creatures are related to today’s sperm whale and oceanic dolphins.
Using micro-computed tomography, the team was able to reconstruct softer organs, re-model the ears of the dolphins and even analyse their hearing ability.
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Largest-ever marine reptile tooth discovered in the Swiss Alps
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A team of researchers have identified a 10cm long tooth discovered in the Swiss Alps as belonging to a giant marine reptile called the Ichthyosaur.
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A team of paleontologists from the Natural History Museum in Basel found last week the footprints of a predatory dinosaur at 3,300 metres in Ela Nature Reserve, Switzerland’s largest park. Basel museum officials said on Saturday that the tracks also represent the largest known specimens from the time period. The prints are 40cm long and…
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