The Region - News from May 19, 1986

Remains of a second and much smaller sea mammal have been found within a few feet of where the nearly intact fossil of a 30-foot whale, believed to have died more than 6 million years ago, was found at a Laguna Niguel construction site. Scientists said that, pending detailed studies, they do not know whether the second find is a baby whale, possibly the offspring of the larger one, or the remains of a different and very small species of whale. The new specimen is only 10 feet long. “To find two animals so close together is a very rare thing,” said Dr. Lawrence Barnes, curator of marine fossils and head of the vertebrate paleontology department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, where the remains of both creatures will be stored.