Marine Life Thrives on Ancient Whale Graveyard

Scientists have uncovered thriving marine communities on a millions-year-old whale graveyard. This includes jellyfish, tubeworms, and brittle stars. When whale carcasses settle on the sea floor, they become a vital food source. Located up to 23,000 feet (7 kilometers) below the southeastern Indian Ocean surface, this graveyard is the largest, deepest, and oldest discovered to date.

Xikun Song, a biologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, explains that a whale’s size and their bones’ unique chemistry foster these underwater ecosystems. However, the deep ocean’s nature makes these sites difficult to locate, Song noted.

Researchers conducted deep-sea submersible trips in 2023 to explore the remains, collecting samples and mapping the necropolis’s extent. They identified five carcass sites and fossils, including skulls from beaked and baleen whales. The oldest bones date back 5.3 million years.

The carcasses supported various creatures, like sea cucumbers, squat lobsters, and saltwater clams. Many species found are likely undocumented, according to findings published in the journal Nature. Paleontologist Stephen Godfrey from the Calvert Marine Museum remarked on the astounding potential number of specimens.

The study suggests several factors helped preserve the bones over millions of years. Their density withstands bone-eating worms’ attacks, and their deep ocean location prevents burial by dust. Minerals from seawater also coated the bones, possibly protecting them from degradation.

Why did many whales die here? Some might have lived locally and died naturally. Others may have succumbed to exhaustion or illness from deep-sea diving. The area’s V shape could have directed the remains to their resting spot, according to the authors.

These findings are crucial for understanding the robust marine ecosystems in harsh environments. Studying whale graveyards offers insights into how life adapts to extreme conditions, such as low light, low oxygen, and high pressure, notes study co-author Giovanni Bianucci, a paleontologist at the University of Pisa.

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