Fossils of a “whale” that had 4 legs and lived 43 million years ago were found
He lived on both land and sea
Not every day, scientists are able to discover something important that changes or clarifies their view regarding the evolution of life on our planet, but they recently announced an extremely important archaeological discovery that greatly explains important stages in the process of marine mammal evolution. This happened after they found fossils of an “amphibious” whale in a coastal desert in southern Peru, which had 4 legs. Scientists estimate that he lived approximately 43 million years ago.
According to what was published by Al-Arabiya.net, scientists said last Thursday, April 4, that the peaceful whale, called “Pyrigocetus,” is more than 4 meters long, and it is considered “a decisive transitional step, before... "Whales will become fully adapted to marine life only."
The scientists continued that what was interesting about this whale was that its four limbs were able to carry it and walk it on land. This gives signs that he could have returned to the rocky coast to rest from fishing or swimming. It is also possible that he gave birth there on land before spending most of his time at sea.
We continued that scientists also indicated that the limbs of the peaceful “Pyrigocetus” ended with small hooves. They believe it is connected by membranes to help it swim. Like the membranes between the toes of ducks and frogs. In a statement by Oliver Lambert, an expert in paleontology at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, who managed and supervised the research published in the scientific journal Current Biology: “We believe that this type of whale was feeding in the water, and that its movements in the sea were... “Easier compared to his movements on land.”
It is worth noting that, throughout the past periods, biologists have not been able to understand the origins and development of whales, which for them has remained somewhat unclear and mysterious. This remained the case until the beginning of the 1990s, after a number of fossils were discovered showing the first generations of whales. Scientists believe that their origin dates back to more than 50 million years ago, and despite this, it remains completely unclear.
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