April
06
/ 2019
Cetaceans, the group including whales and dolphins, originated in south Asia more than 50 million years ago from a small, four-legged, hoofed ancestor. Now, researchers reporting the discovery of an ancient whale with four legs - found in 42.6-million-year-old marine sediments along the coast of Peru - have new insight into whales' evolution and their dispersal to other parts of the world. The findings are reported in the journal Current Biology on April 4. The Anatomy of the Ancient Whale The presence of small hooves at the tip of the whale's fingers and toes and its hip and limbs morphology all suggest that this whale could walk on land, according to the researchers. On the other hand, they say anatomical
