A scientist from Yekaterinburg proved that whales lived in the Urals.

      Scientists from Yekaterinburg have determined that more than 37 million years ago predatory whales lived in the Ural region. Associate Professor of the Department of Biodiversity and Bioecology at UrFU Maxim Sinitsa discovered a tooth of an ancient Eocene whale during an expedition of the Ural-Siberian Paleontological Society. The find was made on the bank of the Tura River in Sverdlovsk Oblast.

      According to preliminary data, the tooth belonged to a representative of the genus basilosaurids — extinct predatory whales.

      "The whale tooth is an extremely rare find. Such specimens are hundreds of thousands of times rarer than shark teeth. Besides, whales were apex predators, and there were always few of them. Most likely they preyed on sharks," Maxim Sinitsa told E1.RU.

      The researcher noted that ancient whales lived in warm seas, and their remains were first discovered in North Africa, where a sea once stretched millions of years ago. Basilosaurids had long, flexible bodies resembling snakes and did not have an organ for echolocation like modern whales. Some retained rudimentary limbs, presumably used during mating.

      The predatory whales fed on large prey, had about 40 powerful front teeth resembling canines, while the rear teeth were flattened and multicusped. The found fragment turned out to be part of a cheek tooth. Male basilosaurids reached up to 21 meters in length, females up to 18 meters. Judging by the size of the tooth, the found specimen was smaller.

      The rare artifact will be transferred to the Paleontological Institute in Moscow, where the only specialist in ancient cetaceans in Russia will be able to determine its exact age.

      Earlier, two years ago, scientists found a fragment of an ancient whale rib in the Urals, but that artifact proved to be uninformative. The story of that find was included in the documentary about Middle Ural paleontology "Prehistoric Creatures of the Ancient Urals," released in September 2024.

      Earlier we wrote that Sverdlovsk scientists created a unique fuel cell.

      Scientists warned of the threat of an environmental catastrophe in Sverdlovsk Oblast.