The blue whale has long been considered the largest animal to have ever existed, even dwarfing the biggest known dinosaurs. But now a new species threatens to steal the crown, and upends what we thought we knew about whale evolution. In the Ica valley in Southern Peru, paleontologists discovered 13 vertebrae, four ribs and a hip bone that were absolutely gigantic. They belonged to a previously unknown species of ancient whale that lived about 39 million years ago, and the team named the creature Perucetus colossus.