The largest, deepest, and oldest whale graveyard ever discovered has been found in the Indian Ocean, spanning 1,200 kilometers and reaching depths of over 7,000 meters.
Discovery
Scientists have unearthed a monumental whale graveyard in the Diamantina Fracture Zone, located in the Indian Ocean between Australia and Antarctica. The site spans approximately 1,200 kilometers and reaches depths of over 7,000 meters.
Key Details
- 485 whale-fall sites were recorded, containing the remains of nearly 500 whales.
- The cache includes 476 fossilized remains and 5 active whale-fall ecosystems that are still thriving.
- The oldest fossil skull dates back 5.26 million years.
- Most of the remains belong to beaked whales.
- The site may have been accumulating these remains for millions of years.
Significance
This find fundamentally reshapes the scientific understanding of whale-fall ecosystems and deep-sea biogeography. It provides a unique fossil archive for tracing cetacean evolution over geological time.
Active whale falls host organisms such as Osedax worms, brittle stars, and bivalve mollusks, proving that whale-fall ecosystems can thrive at extreme depths.
Method
The discovery was made in February 2023 during 32 dives in the crewed submersible Fendouzhe, as part of the Global Hadal Exploration Programme.