Construction workers at the San Diego Zoo dug up a surprising thing: a 3-million-year-old whale.

The whale skeleton.

^{Photo by Ken Bohn}

The construction crew struck a solid article while using an excavotor to dig through fine grain sand. Further investigation revealed it was a giant prehistoric whale.

Paleontologists are excited because the skeletal frame appears to be intact. “It’s rare to have a skeleton this complete,” says Sarah Siren, a paleontological field manager with the San Diego Natural History Museum.

The remains are of a baleen whale,probably not anadult. Gray whales are a type of baleen whale. This one is about 24 feet.

It could takea week to unearth the fossil from the zoo site. It will be sent to the Natural History Museum, where it will undergo testing and be restored, andcould be on exhibit within a year.