5 questions about the ancient whale graveyard discovered in the Indian Ocean

1. What did scientists discover on the floor of the Indian Ocean? Researchers found a millions-year-old whale graveyard hosting thriving communities of marine life, including jellyfish, tubeworms, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, squat lobsters and saltwater clams. Located up to 23,000 feet below the surface of the southeastern Indian Ocean, it is the largest, deepest and oldest whale graveyard ever found. 2. How old is this graveyard, and what did scientists find there? During multiple deep-sea submersible expeditions in 2023, researchers mapped five carcass sites and fossils — including skulls from beaked and baleen whales — with the oldest bones dating back 5.3 million years. Many of the creatures feeding on the remains are likely species that have never been documented before. 3.

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