SANTA BARBARA, Calif – While the newly-released Jurassic World movie roared to the top of the box office, a real life discovery of a giant fossil happened along the Gaviota Coast.
He’s like a modern day of Indiana Jones.
Geologist and fossil enthusiast, Chris Driesbach, was walking along the beach after the January storms in 2024 looking for petrified wood when he saw something in the sand.
To his amazement, he discovered a preserved skull of a whale that once lived over 13 million years ago.
Researchers at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History say it’s extremely rare to find a complete skull in such good condition.
Most fossils are isolated vertebrae or skull fragments.
But, recovering the 5-feet skull wasn’t easy, and took nearly a month to dig out.
Over half a ton of rock was removed in large blocks and transported by helicopter to the museum for further study.
Now, Driesbach visits the Museum’s newly developed fossil prep lab to help volunteers cut away the rock surrounding the fossils.
This painstaking process is expected to take hundreds of hours to complete.
The fossil is currently not on display, as researchers are working to identify the species.
They’re trying to figure out if this is a known species of whale, or a new discovery.
While researchers believe this to be a special find, they hope to discover more answers about the whale.
And one day, it may be featured in a museum exhibit, and help shed light on Miocene marine ecosystems along California’s coast.
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Preparations of 13 Million-Year-Old Whale Fossil Makes Progress at Santa Barbara Historical Museum News Channel 3-12.
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