Ukrainians come closer to solving the mystery of the “mysterious skeleton of a whale” in Antarctica – photo

Not far from the Ukrainian Antarctic station Akademik Vernadsky lies the “mysterious skeleton of a whale.” Ukrainian polar explorers have selected samples that will help unravel its secrets, the National Antarctic Science Center reports.

The skeleton of a whale is located on the coast of Rasmussen Island in the area of ​​”Vernadsky”, they write in the Center. He has preserved not only bones, but also soft tissues. How long the skeleton lies there is unknown, but it is still remembered by the members of the first Ukrainian expedition, which wintered in Antarctica in 1996-97.

It is impossible to establish the species and age of an animal based on bones alone, but scientists “have come closer to solving this mystery,” the NASC notes.

The biologists reportedly selected tissue samples that will be examined in the near future. Radiocarbon analysis allows you to determine the age of the animal, and analysis of proteins – the species.

See also: Huge humpback overgrown with shells “got acquainted” with Ukrainians in Antarctica – photo

In the meantime, researchers have two hypotheses:

– This is the skeleton of a fossil whale that died a long time ago and was buried under a glacier;

– If the remains are relatively new, then they could belong to the victims of whalers who actively fished in the area in the first half of the 20th century. In particular, it may be the remains of the world’s largest animal blue whale, which is now rarely found off the coast of Antarctica.

The NASC promises to tell “the solution to the mystery of the resting giant” when some of the hypotheses will be confirmed by the test results.