Prehistoric Whales Had Legs and Tails, Wiggled Hips

Posted by Alex in Animal, Pictures, Science & Tech on September 13, 2008 at 8:29 am



Illustration: Mary Parrish / Smithsonian Institution

Mark D. Uhen, a paleontologist from Alabama Museum of Natural History found that prehistoric whales didn’t have flukes – they had legs and tails!

After analyzing the fossils for almost three years, Uhen concluded the individual had a tail, but no fluke, and that Georgiacetus wiggled its hips and moved its entire trunk up and down through the water to move forward—a swim stroke whales no longer use.

Link – Thanks Marilyn!


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COMMENT

11 comments to "Prehistoric Whales Had Legs and Tails, Wiggled Hips"

  1. Jesus is Good
    September 13th, 2008 at 8:53 pm

    Its all lies! There are still missing links

    We didnt come from monkeys!

  2. owl
    September 13th, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    Looks like reverse evolution to me...

  3. nalden
    September 14th, 2008 at 12:42 am

    I've heard of this before.. in fact, from what I remember, the first whales looked strikingly similar to a furry crocodile. Before the Sahara Desert was a desert, it was a lush ocean where the first whales made their home. Go figure!

  4. ted
    September 14th, 2008 at 8:35 am

    There's no such thing as reverse evolution. Evolution is simply evolution - a living organism adapting to its environment. To say "reverse" would imply that the progression of fins to limbs is progression, and that to go from limbs to fins is regression.

    The theory of the process of evolution shoudn't preclude the possiblity of a multi-celled organism adapting to it environment by going to a single-cell organism if that's what's required for its long-term survival.

    Or am I crazy?

  5. edh85
    September 14th, 2008 at 11:31 am

    Would've been cool to see if they were still around!

  6. Thomas
    September 14th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Science- 128
    Relgion- 0

  7. Moodindigo
    September 15th, 2008 at 3:12 am

    Alabama has a museum of natural history? Who'd 've thunk?

  8. esu
    September 15th, 2008 at 4:12 am

    evolution doesn't take into consideration the "long term survival" it is just the surviving reproducing individuals will pass on their traits.

    in simple, the traits that you have now, are best suited for the generation before you (your parents generation) since they reproduced.

  9. Xinavera
    September 15th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

    No, we didn't come from monkeys. We came from slime molds by way of monkeys.

    Cool story.

  10. AreYouSerious
    September 16th, 2008 at 11:29 pm

    ESU - actually what you said is natural selection, evolution is the development of traits as a result of natural selection

    Anyways the Georgiacetus kinda looks like those creatures from the short lived TV show Surface

  11. Mathew
    February 10th, 2009 at 2:57 pm

    i like sperm whales.


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