Pakicetus fossils, which include many broken teeth, skulls, and skeletons, were found in the Kuldana Formation in Pakistan, a site that was located near the northern edge of the Tethys Sea during the Eocene. Paleontologists arent completely sure at this time. Pakicetus, extinct genus of early cetacean mammals known from fossils discovered in 48.5-million-year-old river delta deposits in present-day Pakistan. The whales massive bulbous head is about one-third of the animals length. So how did they come to be so specialized for life in the sea? The dentition of the animal indicates that it had a diet primarily of fish; however, its skeleton and skull suggest that it spent a considerable amount of time on land. After the asteroid hit the Earth, it sent a shower of molten rock into the atmosphere, which then crystallized at high altitudes.. Mammoths also migrated over that land bridge! In 2001, scientists found fossils which confirmed the fact that this mammal lived entirely on the land and never went into the water. The excavation site is now a rocky, mountainous desert, but 50 million years ago, it was located beneath the southern edge of an immense, ancient ocean called the Tethys Sea. Pakicetus, the oldest and most primitive whale. by cavities filled with a fine bubbly foam. developed for hearing in Extinction of Homo erectus | The Smithsonian Institution's Human "[7], However, Thewissen et al. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. to allow for this. The information here is completely represent the group of The problem is that people tend to give sole causes while the real reasons are usually far more complex. In traditional Maori culture, whales were the source of important resources, such as oil, protein, bones and teeth, and the inspiration for stories of whale riders, ancestors transported to New Zealand atop a whale. Pakicetus attocki lived on the margins of a large shallow ocean around 50 million years ago. the skull has brought the second hunting theory of lurking in the water Name: formed from very hard, dense material and are almost completely surrounded The climate of the early Eocene Epoch (56 million to 40 million years ago) was the warmest of the Cenozoic Era, nearly 10 C (18 F) warmer than the global average of the present day. Sensory Abilities: Pakicetus had a dense and thickened auditory bulla, which is a characteristic of all cetaceans. [13] The fossil indicated that whales swam up and down with their vertebral column, which caused their feet to move up and down like otters and their land movements were similar to sea lions; even their limbs protracted and retracted on land. How the Whale Lost Its Legs And Returned To the Sea Thus, Pakicetus represents a transitional taxon between extinct land mammals and modern cetaceans. as modern seals and walruses are (Nature, vol 361, p 444). 7 Extinction Level Events That Could End Life as We Know It, 6 Alternative Dinosaur Extinction Theories That Don't Work, 10 Prehistoric Creatures that Grew to Dinosaur-Like Sizes, The 10 Most Important Facts About Dinosaurs. Like the modern Pakicetus is a prehistoric cetacean mammal which lived approximately 50 million years ago during the Early Eocene Period.
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