Along the Coast of Peru, Scientists Discover an Ancient Whale With 4 Legs
Around 50 million years ago, whales began inching toward planet-wide colonization. At the time, reveals research published Thursday in Current Biology, they were small, hooved, legged, and land-locked animals living in South Asia — quite unlike the giant, streamlined humpbacks and bowheads we know today.
While scientists know that whales’ ancestors came from the sea onto land, then evolved to once again live in the sea, the exact details of that journey have been sparse. The new paper reveals an important piece of the puzzle: evidence of a four-legged whale that lived along the coast of Peru 42.6 million years ago. The international team named this newly identified species Peregocetus pacificus or “the traveling whale that reached the Pacific.”
This skeleton, dug out from the coastal desert Playa Media Luna, is the first indisputable record of a quadrupedal whale skeleton for the whole Pacific Ocean. Additionally, it’s the most complete skeleton found outside of India and Pakistan, and it is the oldest found yet in the Americas.
Excavation of Whale
more at this link:
https://www.inverse.com/article/54611-ancient-whale-four-legs-peru
= new reply since forum marked as read
… whales, dolphins and porpoises are incredible animals... we should learn more about them and try to communicate and get along better.
Thanks.
