Fossilized Tympanic Bulla Cetacean Ear Bone Fossil 3.53\" Pliocene Era Whale For Sale

Formation:Yorktown 4.8-3 mya
Size:3.53 Inches
Negatives: There are minor damages on different areas of the fossil.Positives: The bulla is in decent shape.
Description of the animal:TheYorktown Formation, dating to thePliocene epoch(approximately 3 to 5 million years ago), represents a high point of marine mammal diversity along the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The cetacean assemblage is characterized by a mix of early modern lineages and now-extinct transitional forms.Mysticetes (baleen whales)are particularly abundant, including primitive rorquals and members of the genusBalaenoptera, reflecting a period of high primary productivity in the nutrient-rich coastal waters. Simultaneously, theOdontocete (toothed whale)fauna was highly varied, featuring extinct porpoises, long-beaked dolphins likePliodelphis, and early relatives of modern sperm whales. These fossils, frequently recovered from sites like theLee Creek Minein North Carolina, provide a critical window into the evolution of modern whale sizes and feeding strategies before the onset of Pleistocene glaciation.