Deep whale 'graveyard' found in Indian Ocean with hundreds of fossils
scienceJun 10, 202614587
Researchers mapped about 500 whale skeletons and carcasses across a 1,200 kilometer stretch of the Diamantina Zone in the southeastern Indian Ocean, at depths near 7,000 meters. A Nature paper reports radiometric and stratigraphic dating that shows remains span recent to about 5.3 million years old, and several bones belong to extinct species new to science. The deposits host living deep-sea communities, including jellyfish, tubeworms, brittle stars and other undescribed organisms that feed on or inhabit whale falls. The discovery reveals long-lived, specialized deep-sea ecosystems and reshapes understanding of carbon cycling and biodiversity below 6,000 meters.
