Massive 5‑Million‑Year‑Old Whale Graveyard Discovered in Indian Ocean

An 1,200‑km long whale graveyard – the largest ever uncovered – lies 7 km beneath the south‑eastern Indian Ocean’s sea surface in the Diamantina fracture zone. It was identified through deep‑sea dives by a multinational team of scientists from China, Italy and New Zealand.

The geological record shows that the carcasses date back as far as 5.3 million years, making them extraordinarily rare fossil sites. Among the discoveries are a fossilised beaked whale, the Antarctic minke whale – the largest specimen found – and a new species, Pterocetus diamantinae, named after the discovery site.

Beyond the fossilized whales, the necropolis supports a diverse community of jellyfish, worms and crustaceans that thrive on the spread of carcasses. Researchers noted that the biodiversity intensity and range of the site are “far beyond anything we had imagined”.

The findings were published in the journal Nature and have sparked excitement within the global marine science community. Experts anticipate that the site will yield additional astonishing discoveries and encourage more submersible expeditions into similarly extreme underwater environments.