Public gets first view of 40 million-year-old whale fossil

ATLANTA (Reuters) -- Scientists on Thursday gave the public its first glimpse of a 40 million-year-old whale fossil that was found 15 years ago and may yield clues about the evolution of whales.

"This is the first time and probably the last time this will ever happen," Georgia Southern University paleontologist Richard Hulbert said of the viewing. "After this, it will be available only for other scientists to come and study forever."

The whale fossil will be on display through Oct. 25 at the university's museum, about 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Atlanta.

Hulbert said Georgia Power Co., a division of Southern Co., discovered the fossil in May 1983 while building the Plant Vogtle nuclear power facility.

The fossil was found 30 feet (9.1 meters) below ground along the Savannah River about 140 miles (224 km) east of Atlanta and consisted of a skull, lower jaw, teeth, vertebrae, ribs and pelvis.

"It is perhaps the best preserved specimen of an early whale in the world," Hulbert said. "We've been working on it for several years now, trying to figure out how it fits in the evolutionary pattern of whales."

Scientists at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, where the fossil was taken, named the whale Georgiacetus vogtlensis for the state and plant site where it was found. They described their findings in the September issue of Journal of Paleontology.

The scientists used a standard geologic technique involving plankton to determine that the Vogtle whale was one of a species that lived 39 million to 41 million years ago, when most of what is now Georgia was covered by a tropical sea.

The species of plankton in the whale's bones had been found in a marine rock dated with radioactive isotopes.

In a statement, the university said that the Vogtle whale had already changed anatomically from its ancestors, which lived -- and walked -- on land. The Vogtle whale's pelvis had disconnected from its spine, although it still had hind legs.

The university said the Vogtle whale was "the only known fossil whale that demonstrates this critical ancestral phase of adaptation from living on land to living in the ocean."

"We hope to make a detailed replica of the specimen and study some of the missing parts," Hulbert said. "We can't do that with the original specimen because it is too valuable and may get damaged."

He said the fossil's discovery by Georgia Power was itself a whale of a tale.

"Not only did they shut the plant (construction) down, but they even built a shelter over the specimen to protect it from the rain. They guarded it at night so vandals couldn't disturb it," Hulbert said. "They went over and above the call of duty."

The power company then contacted Georgia Southern University, where scientists were studying fossils from the tropical sea once covering much of Georgia.

"Later, they (Georgia Power) donated funds so some of the professors here wouldn't have to teach so many classes and could spend their time working on the specimen," Hulbert said.

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