Egypt: Discovery of the whale “Tucitus ryanensis”, one of the oldest whales in Africa
The American University in Egypt announced on Thursday that paleontologists have discovered the remains of a whale that lived in Egypt 41 million years ago. It is one of the oldest fossils of this type of whale in Africa, and it is extinct today.
The whale was named “Tutcetos Rhianensis,” after the child pharaoh Tutankhamun, from “Setos,” which means whale in Greek, and Wadi El Rayan in the Fayoum Governorate, south of Cairo, where it was discovered.
The American University said in a statement that it is “the smallest whale from the basilosaurian whale family that has been discovered to this day and one of the oldest fossils of this species in Africa.”
Dr. Hisham Salam, professor of vertebrate paleontology at the American University in Cairo, said in a statement, “Although this group of whale ancestors had developed fish-like characteristics, such as the transformation of the front limb into fins, the elongation of the vertebrae, and the growth of the tail fin, they had hind limbs that could be seen.” Enough to call them legs, which were not used for walking at all due to their small size.”
Salam is a member of the research team that found the skull, jaws, bones and vertebrae of an animal measuring 2.5 meters long and weighing 187 kilograms.
The fossil was found in a part of Egypt that was covered by the sea, where the Valley of the Whales is also located, and contains “priceless” fossil remains, according to UNESCO.
In August 2021, Egyptian archaeologists discovered the fossil of a new species of amphibious whale dating back 43 million years in the Fayoum region.
With a length of more than three meters and about 600 kilograms, Egypt presented “Phiomecetus Anubis” as “the oldest and most ferocious whale in Africa.”
In 2018, a team of scientists discovered the first dinosaur skeleton in Africa dating back more than 75 million years.
Source: AFP - Euronews