When did baleen whales become large? New blog post - The Coastal Paleontologist

[Boesse]

Hey all, I realize I've been incommunicado quite a bit this year - it's been a bad one. Things got real bad at the office and both my wife and I resigned from our department and we've been working for a new nonprofit in Charleston. But, I AM alive and returning to active status here on TFF now that 1) the forum has been upgraded and is functioning and 2) I've had some breathing room and time to unwind after leaving a deeply toxic work environment.

 

I've also made a conscious effort to get back into blogging more frequently and have written/posted quite a lot in 2023. My most recent post summarizes a bit of an interesting and ongoing debate in whaleontology: when exactly did baleen whales become gigantic? Anyone who has spent any time in the Pliocene of the Carolinas or Florida knows that baleen whale fossils that are only a few million years old are nowhere near as large as the gigantic skeletons of modern whales hanging in museums. So, what gives?

 

 

I've written a blog post that goes into a fair amount of detail regarding competing ideas for the evolution of body size in baleen whales - shown above is skull width of archaeocetes, odontocetes (toothed whales) and mysticetes (baleen whales) through time.

 

Read the whole thing here - please enjoy! And don't hesitate to ask questions, here or on the blog. https://coastalpaleo.blogspot.com/2023/12/obscure-controversies-in-cenozoic.html

 

 

[Harry Pristis]

I'm sorry to hear of your career setback, Bobby.  Your analytical and communication skills suggest to me that good things are in your future. 

---Harry 

[JohnJ]

You always have a platform here, Bobby.  Good to hear you've had a chance to refocus your goals under more positive circumstances.  Thanks for posting this.  

[Josh_irving]

I recommend trying to get in contact with Dr Erich Fitzgerald from the Melbourne Museum. His research suggest that whales became large in the southern hemisphere and then later in the northern hemisphere. He would be a good person to compare notes with.