New Prehistoric dolphin species has been discovered in Switzerland

 The researchers determined that the extinct animals are related to the sperm whales and ocean dolphins living nowadays.

formerly unknown species of dolphin swam the oceans 20 million years in the past, together with in waters that included Switzerland, today a land-locked country on the coronary heart of Europe, researchers stated on Tuesday.

back then, Switzerland became part of an island landscape, with its low-lying parts blanketed in ocean teeming with fish, sharks and dolphins, and with mussels and sea urchins lining the seabed.

After analyzing round 300 fossils of whales and dolphins observed in Switzerland and dating from this period, researchers from Zurich college's palaeontological institute found two previously unknown species, the university stated in a declaration.

Combing via fragments of enamel, vertebrae and bones determined in layers of marine sediment, known as the higher Marine Molasse, the researchers sought out the less generally determined bones from the inner ear, due to the fact they permit species to be categorized.

"We managed to become aware of two families of dolphins previously unknown in Switzerland," palaeontologist Gabriel Aguirre said in the declaration.

the usage of micro-computed tomography, a 3-D imaging technique, the researchers have been capable of reconstruct the softer organs around the tough ear bones, growing 3-d fashions of the ears.