16 million year old river dolphin fossil found in Peru

Scientists on Wednesday found a 16-million-year-old fossilized skull of a river dolphin in Peru. This dolphin once swam in water and its closest relative is the South Asian river dolphin of the Ganges River in India. Paleontologist Rodolfo Salas said the skull belonged to the largest dolphin known to have lived in South American waters, measuring 3 to 3.5 meters (9.8 to 11.4 ft) long. It was named Pebanista Yacuruna after the deep-water Peruvian mythological creature Yacuruna.

"This dolphin is related to the Ganges river dolphin in India," Salas said, adding that the Peruvian dolphin is much larger than its living relatives in Asia. Salas said, the ancestors of both dolphins previously lived in the sea.

"This allowed them to occupy large marine spaces near the coasts of India and South America," Salas said. These animals lived in freshwater environments in both the Amazon and India. Sadly, they are extinct in the Amazon. They are gone, but they are alive in India."

This study has been published in the journal Science Advances. Scientists found the fossil during a 2018 expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society on the Napo River.