Whale Graveyard Dating Back Five Million Years Discovered

Sat Jun 13 2026 12:21:14 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A 1,200‑km long, 7‑km deep whale cemetery dating 5.3 million years was found in the Indian Ocean, revealing new species and a budding deep‑sea ecosystem.

Scientists uncovered a colossal underwater whale graveyard along the Diamantina fracture zone in the southeastern Indian Ocean, stretching 1,200 km and plunging 7 km deep. With 485 fossilised carcasses, including the extinct Pterocetus benguelae, the site has yielded a brand‑new species, Pterocetus diamantinae, and a thriving community of scavengers. The find, reported in Nature, pushes back the known age of whale falls and opens fresh research avenues into deep‑sea biology.

Whale Graveyard Dating Back Five Million Years Discovered

Scientists have uncovered a colossal, 1,200‑km long, 7‑km deep decomposed whale cemetery in the Diamantina fracture zone of the southeastern Indian Ocean, pushing back the fossil record of cetacean carcasses to about 5.3 million years ago.

The site yielded 485 fossilised bodies, one well‑preserved skeleton of the extinct Pterocetus benguelae, and a newly named species, Pterocetus diamantinae, after the discovery location.

Beyond the fossils, a thriving ecosystem of scavengers—including jellyfish, worms and crustaceans—now dominates the submarine landscape, suggesting rapid colonisation after giant carcasses sank.

Lead researcher Xiaotong Peng remarked that the range, depth and age of the necropolis were "far beyond anything imagined." The find, detailed in the journal Nature, promises to inspire future deep‑sea expeditions into similar unexplored trenches.