Scientists Map Deepest Known Whale Graveyard in Indian Ocean

Researchers identified five carcass sites and fossils, including skulls belonging to beaked and baleen whales, in the southeastern Indian Ocean’s Diamantina Fracture Zone. The site spans the largest area, reaches the greatest depth and contains the oldest bones of any whale graveyard documented so far. 3 million years.

Researchers collected samples and mapped the extent of the necropolis during multiple deep-sea submersible trips in 2023. Marine life observed feeding and living on the carcasses includes jellyfish, tubeworms, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, squat lobsters and saltwater clams. Many of the observed species are likely undocumented, according to findings published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Xikun Song, a biologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, stated that a whale’s sheer size and the unique chemistry of its bones are the keys to forming these unique underwater neighborhoods. Song added that the very nature of the deep ocean makes these sites exceptionally difficult for scientists to locate.

Stephen Godfrey, a paleontologist with the Calvert Marine Museum in Maryland, stated that the potential number of specimens is just astounding.

Giovanni Bianucci, a paleontologist with the University of Pisa in Italy, stated that studying the whale graveyards is important for understanding how life can adapt to such extreme conditions, not only due to the lack of light and oxygen but also to the incredibly high pressure.

The bones are dense enough to outlast attacks from bone-eating worms and are located deep enough in the ocean to avoid being buried by dust and loose particles, according to the study authors. The bones were also coated with a light layer of minerals from the surrounding seawater.

The area’s shape, akin to the letter V, could have funneled the remains to their resting spot.