Scientists uncover secrets of whale graveyard in Chile

Thursday, February 27, 2014 - 19:01 in Paleontology & Archaeology

Scientists believe they can now explain the mass graveyard of whales and other marine life discovered beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile. The fossils - preserved more than five million years ago - are the result of four mass strandings, said a report in the Royal Society Journal. Researchers uncovered strong evidence to suggest that the whales died after ingesting toxic algae. The dead animals were then swept into an estuary and onto flat land where they they were eventually buried by sand.

Read the whole article on CBSNews - Science

More from CBSNews - Science

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net