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===state of fossil preservation=== | ===state of fossil preservation=== | ||
The preservation of the whale fossils is amazing. Of the hundreds of whale fossils, 145 are complete fossils. There are no signs of what one would expect from sea floor decay(wormholes, barnacle encrustations, and a utter lack of any sign of bioturbation). Brand et al point out that when a marine creature dies, scavengers quickly | The preservation of the whale fossils is amazing. Of the hundreds of whale fossils, 145 are complete fossils. There are no signs of what one would expect from sea floor decay(wormholes, barnacle encrustations, and a utter lack of any sign of bioturbation). Brand et al point out that when a marine creature dies, scavengers quickly devour the corpse. Furthermore, the baleen of some whales, a part rarely found, is preserved. As a result, Brand et al claim that this site is clearly an example of rapid burial.[http://origins.swau.edu/who/chadwick/whales.1] | ||
{{cquote|Observations of modern whale carcasses on the seafloor indicate that baleen does not remain long within the mouth of a dead whale. This is due to the non-bony nature of baleen and the fact that the plates are not rooted in the upper mandible but just glued to it. Sedimentological and taphonomic features suggest that the exceptional occurrence of the baleen apparatus of these fossil is the result of very rapid burial of the carcasses, which likely occurred after most of the soft tissue decayed but before baleen was removed.}}[http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2006AM/finalprogram/abstract_112216.htm] | {{cquote|Observations of modern whale carcasses on the seafloor indicate that baleen does not remain long within the mouth of a dead whale. This is due to the non-bony nature of baleen and the fact that the plates are not rooted in the upper mandible but just glued to it. Sedimentological and taphonomic features suggest that the exceptional occurrence of the baleen apparatus of these fossil is the result of very rapid burial of the carcasses, which likely occurred after most of the soft tissue decayed but before baleen was removed.}}[http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2006AM/finalprogram/abstract_112216.htm] | ||
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