Scientists begin dig for skull of whale

Andrew Edwards

Paintbrush in hand, paleontologist Gino Calvano hunkered down in a

Newport Beach backyard Tuesday to begin the painstaking work of

unearthing a fossilized whale skull.

Calvano and paleontologist Sarah Black, both from the Irvine

office of the Keith Companies, a consulting firm, teamed up to bring

the long-buried bones into the modern world.

The paleontologists expect to complete the removal today, Black

said. Once the dirt has been cleared away, the bones will be wrapped

in burlap and plaster and hauled away.

It’s a technique that has not changed much in more than a century.

“The methods from the 1890s are actually the best we have today,”

Black said.

The whale, Black said, could have lived as long as 3 million to 5

million years ago.

Once the skull is out of the ground, scientists will be able to

analyze the bones and determine the whale’s species. From what Black

can figure out so far, the animal was probably about 40 feet long,

and had a 10-foot-long skull.

The skull, discovered during a construction project at a Kings

Road home, lies between a wall and an extension being built onto the

house. Though Black said the find may be one of the most complete

whale skulls ever found in Newport Beach, the paleontologists do not

plan to extract all of the skull since the jaws are buried beneath

the house.

“Kind of safety and structure before fossils,” Black said.

The whale was found under the home of Gretchen Schreiber, her

husband, Andrew, and children Taylor Bergquist, 11, and Austin

Bergquist, 10.

Living above fossils has been exciting for the two boys.

“I can’t remember the first quotes out of their mouths, but I know

they’re telling all their friends at school like crazy,” Gretchen

Schreiber said.

Calvano rarely works on fossils that are found in backyards. He

usually works to dig up bones that have been uncovered at major

developments where large amounts of earth are moved.

“The odds of this are really astronomical,” he said.

Though the whale’s jawbones will likely remain underground, that

part of the fossil could remain a buried treasure for future

scientists. Newport Beach city archeologist Robert Masters said the

location of the bones would be marked on a paleontological map to

alert whomever builds on that land.

“Maybe we can get some more of the pieces and fit them together

like a giant jigsaw puzzle 100 years from now,” Masters said.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards

@latimes.com.