It can reach the length of incredible 30 meters and weigh almost 200 tons. In size, we can compare it to the largest of dinosaurs, only 2 times bigger. With measures like that, we can say without a doubt, that the blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived on this planet.
With that in mind, we can't help ourselves but wonder how did they become so enormous?
Luckily for us, a group of scientists from Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History was determined to shed some light on the mystery of the blue whale and its gigantic size.
1 The real mystery behind the size of the blue whale
Advertisement
Blue whales weren't always this big. It might be hard to believe but they were significantly smaller in size for the most part of their 35 million year history. It wasn't until only 2-3 million years ago that they became the giants that we know today.
It wouldn't be much of a mystery if only they grew in size GRADUALLY. But they did not. The gigantic growth of the blue whale was sudden. And it was this fact alone that encouraged this group of scientists from Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History to further explore what caused this extraordinary phenomenon.
Image Source: www.huffpost.com