36m-year-old fossil discovery is missing link in whale evolution, say researchers

Mystacodon selenensis, found in Peru, is the oldest known cousin of modern baleen whales and offers unprecedented evolutionary insights

Fossil hunters say they have unearthed a missing link in the evolution of baleen whales after digging up the remains of a creature thought to have lived more than 36 million years ago.

The whales, known as mysticeti, sport a bristling collection of sieve-like plates known as baleen that they use to filter water for food. Species include the enormous blue whale, the gray whale and the humpback whale.