Heterocetus guiscardii
The fossil skeleton found in 1985 by the cultural association “Paolo Orsi” in the quarry of Cessaniti (VV) and baptized with the name of Leyda, is considered the most complete of the species of Heterocetus Guiscardii all over the world.
The sediment that incorporated the skeleton was dated thanks to the presence of Heterostegina papyracea, a benthic foraminifera useful for dating the sediment and for reconstructing the temperature and climatic variations of the oceans in the past.
During the Miocene the area of Monte Poro was a sea bed, called Thetys, had a tropical climate. Today part of the seabed of that sea emerges in various points, such as the cliff of Tropea, the picks of the coast of the Gods and the steep slopes of hinterland.
The Heterocetus guiscardi belongs to the order of the Mysticeti characterized by particular laminae which are located in the mouth called baleen. These whales are the result of an evolutionary process which started about 55 million years ago from quadrupedal and terrestrial ancestors. The size of the skeleton is small compared to the current ones of whales, because modern-day cetaceans tend to grow more and more for defense reasons.