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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →A partial fossil found near Jan Juc on Victoria’s Surf Coast belongs to Janjucetus dullardi, a newly named, immature toothed baleen-whale relative. Its associated skull, unusually well-preserved teeth and ear region add evidence about the diversity and relationships of early baleen whales—not proof that this individual was a direct ancestor of whales alive today.
What was the fossil found near Jan Juc?
Janjucetus dullardi was a small, toothed mysticete: a member of the whale group that includes modern baleen whales, but not a modern-style, toothless filter-feeder. It belonged to Mammalodontidae, an extinct group of toothed mysticetes.
Local resident Ross Dullard found the partial fossil while walking near Jan Juc in June 2019 and donated it to Museums Victoria. The museum identifies the find location as Wadawurrung Country on Victoria’s Surf Coast. Researchers describe the specimen as an associated but incomplete skull from the Jan Juc Marl, with cranial elements, a right tympanic bulla, periotics and isolated teeth.
The species was formally described in a peer-reviewed paper by Ruairidh J. Duncan and co-authors, published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society on 12 August 2025.
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What did the whale look like, and how big was it?
A small animal with slicing teeth
The researchers infer that the animal was immature and estimate its body length at approximately 2.05–2.18 metres. That is an estimate from the fossil, not a measurement of a complete skeleton. Museums Victoria describes it more simply as just over two metres long.
Its near-unworn teeth give researchers a relatively clear view of tooth shape. The museum’s description captures the striking combination: lead author Ruairidh Duncan called it “a little whale with big eyes and a mouth full of sharp, slicing teeth.” The remains do not, on their own, establish exactly what it hunted or how it fed.
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Teeth instead of baleen
Unlike living baleen whales, which use baleen plates to filter food from water and lack functional adult teeth, J. dullardi had teeth. It represents an archaic toothed branch of mysticetes, living during a period when toothed mysticetes and toothless, filter-feeding baleen whales both existed.
Why are its skull and ears important?
Many known mammalodontid fossils consist of isolated teeth or ear bones. This specimen preserves an associated set of cranial elements along with teeth and substantial parts of the auditory region, making it possible to compare features that are rarely found together.
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Museums Victoria reports that micro-CT scanning revealed delicate inner-ear structures, including the cochlea. The combination provides anatomical information for studying how mammalodontids differed from other early mysticetes and how their skull and auditory structures fit within whale evolution. It does not by itself demonstrate a particular sensory ability or hunting strategy.
How does the fossil shed light on whale origins?
The main contribution is evidence about early mysticete diversity and relationships. In the paper’s phylogenetic analysis, J. dullardi is recovered as the sister species of Janjucetus hunderi within a monophyletic Mammalodontidae. “Sister” here means that the two species are each other’s closest relatives in that analysis; it does not mean one is established as the direct ancestor of the other.
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That placement helps researchers compare an informative new animal with other toothed mysticetes and refine the picture of early baleen-whale evolution. It supports a branching history with diverse early forms, rather than a simple line in which this fossil is shown to lead directly to living whales.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How old is it, and how rare are mammalodontids?
The Jan Juc Marl is assigned to the late Chattian and dated in the paper to 26.05–24.2 million years ago, based on prior stratigraphic work. This is the age range for the fossil-bearing formation; it is not an exact date independently established for this individual specimen. The familiar “26-million-year-old” description refers to that broader geological context.
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The paper describes mammalodontids from the Chattian of southeastern Australia and New Zealand, with much of the known material represented by isolated teeth and ear bones. Museums Victoria counts J. dullardi as the fourth mammalodontid species known worldwide and the third from Victoria.
What can the fossil tell us about climate change?
Museums Victoria notes that the fossil-bearing formation dates to a time of global warmth and rising seas, and frames the study of ancient whale adaptations as potentially useful context for thinking about marine life under present-day climate change. The study does not establish how modern whales or other marine species will respond to current conditions, so the fossil should not be treated as a forecast.
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