Specimen P 257127 Research Focus, Bayside Fossils - Beaked Whale Rostrum, Ziphiidae

Summary

The three individual fragments of this fossilised beaked whale rostrum (snout) were found at the same Bayside beach, many years apart. This was the final fragment found, the part from the base of the snout at front of the skull. It was found by Connah Brecon while diving at Beaumaris in 2021. He also found the second piece, both of which fit together perfectly with the original fragment found by Tim Flannery in 1977.

Beaked whales (Ziphiidae) are some of the most mysterious and rare living whale species, rarely seen by humans. They first evolved in the Miocene, more than 15 million years ago.