The path to the water had started, and very clearly at that. It was about 9 feet long, and it lived 50 to 49 million years ago. It's thought that they would lurk near the water's edge and snatch victims when they came to drink. They likely had to set their head on the ground to feel for vibrations in order to hear on land.Ĭhemical analysis of their teeth has shown them to be adapted to both fresh and sea water. They have an adaptation to their nostril that allows them to swallow underwater, and their ears are not external. They have hind legs, but they are better adapted for swimming than for walking. The ambulocetids have the cetacean ear structure. It was the perfect intermediate, the ultimate missing link between land mammals and sea mammals. Those dogmatists who by verbal trickery can make white black, and black white, will never be convinced of anything, but Ambulocetus is the very animal that they proclaimed impossible in theory."Īmbulocetus was like hitting the mother lode in whale evolution. "If you had given me a blank piece of paper and a blank check, I could not have drawn you a theoretical intermediate any better or more convincing than Ambulocetus. Since we are excited to be able to go back 6 to 7 million years with man, the 53-million-year story of whale evolution is remarkably complete! The Pakicetids
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However, once we hit the pakicetids, 53 million years ago, the evidence starts nailing down the series for us. There are areas, from over 50 million years ago, where scientists are disagreed (and very excited about continuing to learn more) over which order whales evolved from. The evolution of mammals will be covered elsewhere, so let's skip that whole portion of the evolution of whales. On top of this, the end of whale evolution-the cetaceans, the order to which whales belong-are often more adept at life in the sea than fish! (Otters can outswim many fish, too!) In the Beginning … No, Let's Skip the BeginningĬetaceans are mammals, the only mammals that live (all the time) in the water. Hans Thewissen, perhaps the leading specialist in whale evolution, tells us the transition from a completely land animal to a completely marine animal took only 8 million years. Unbelievable, but one of the most well-attested line of fossils there is. Then they returned to the sea, lost their legs and fur, but kept their lungs. Thus, over hundreds of millions they left the sea, grew legs, grew fur, and evolved lungs. Whales, like all mammals, evolved from reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Whale evolution is one of the most fascinating examples of evolution that there is.
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