mesonychids limbs and tail description

Riley Black Thewissen, J.G.M., Madar, S.I., and S.T. New middle Eocene archaeocetes (Cetacea: Mammalia) from the Kuldana Formation of Northern Pakistan. Get directions, reviews and information for Wiggling Tails in Pacifica, CA. I suggest instead that body appendages such as arthropod and vertebrate limbs and chordate tails are evolutionarily divergent duplicates (paramorphs) of the main body axis, that is, its duplicates, albeit devoid of endodermal component. Samples from the teeth of Pakicetus yield oxygen isotope ratios and variation that indicate Pakicetus lived in freshwater environments, such as rivers and lakes. Your Privacy Rights Mesonychidae Since other predators, such as creodonts and Carnivora, were either rare or absent in these animal communities, mesonychids most likely dominated the large predator niche in the Paleocene of eastern Asia. Dissacus was a jackal-sized carnivore that has been found all over the northern hemisphere[1], but its daughter genus, Ankalagon, from the early to middle Paleocene of New Mexico was far larger, growing to the size of a bear. The legs were strong and ended in long feet very much like those of a modern pinniped. They were endemic to North America and Eurasia during the Early Paleocene to the Early Oligocene, and were the earliest group of large carnivorous mammals in Asia. homestead high school staff. Another explanation for the bony struts in the leg bones of Ambulocetus is that it walked on the bottom of rivers and lakes, much like the modern hippopotamus. Harlan traveled to London in 1839 to present Basilosaurus to some of the leading paleontologists and anatomists of the day. vertebrae, and significant portions of fore and hind limbs. These "wolves on hooves" were probably one of the more important predator groups in the late Paleocene and Eocene ecosystems of Europe (which was an archipelago at the time), Asia (which was an island continent), and North America. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Although the ear bones are not well preserved, based on older and younger fossil cetaceans, Ambulocetus may have retained an ability to hear airborne sound. Earliest ancestors []. caesars . Mesonychidae was named by Cope (1880). Toggle navigation. When the unnerved scientists gathered the fragments, they noticed that the bone now revealed the inner ear. Mesonychids first appeared in the early Palaeocene with the genus Dissacus. Archaic ungulates ("Condylarthra"). Mesonychids probably originated in China, where the most primitive mesonychid, Yangtanglestes, is known from the early Paleocene. Technically speaking, the term "mesonychid" refers specifically to the members of the family Mesonychidae only, such as the species of the genus Mesonyx. these animals were torpedo-shaped and had flexible and elongated vertebrae, huge skulls more than 3 feet long, curved front teeth, serrated cheek teeth, flexible necks, twin flippers derived from forelegs, small dorsal fins, and long, fluked tails. Rodhocetus spp. To understand how apes and humans lost their tail, Mr. Xia looked at how the tail forms in other animals. But, because they are mammals, we know that they must . Thewissen, J.G.M and Hussain, S.T. mesonychids limbs and tail description by vertical tail beats and cannot locomote on land. Mesonychids possess unusual triangular molar teeth that are similar to those of Cetacea (whales and dolphins), especially those of the archaeocetes, as well as having similar skull anatomies and other morphologic traits. They looked as if they would have been more at home on land than in the water, and they probably got around lakes and rivers by doing the doggie paddle. Untitled Document. Currently, it is believed that the mesonychians are descended from the Condylarths (the first hoofed animals) and are part of the cohort or superorder Laurasiatheria. An introduction to evolution: what is evolution and how does it work? The bones were so numerous that in some fields they were destroyed because they interfered with cultivating the land. DNA and the Developing Embryo. Blubber, blowholes and flukes are among the hallmarks of the roughly 80 species of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) alive today. ("8v`HaU But while preparing the sixth edition, he decided to include a small note aboutBasilosaurus. Pakicetus had a long snout; a typical complement of teeth that included incisors, canines, premolars, and molars; a distinct and flexible neck; and a very long and robust tail. By Pete Thomas for GrindTV. References Consulted: Kevin Guertin/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0. 24 Jun . Age: [5] They would have resembled no group of living animals. Mesonychids were not the ancestors of whales, and hippos are now known to be the closest living relatives to whales. He envisioned a hypothetical cetacean ancestor easing itself into the shallows: We may conclude by picturing to ourselves some primitive generalized, marsh-haunting animals with scanty covering of hair like the modern hippopotamus, but with broad, swimming tails and short limbs, omnivorous in their mode of feeding, probably combining water plants with mussels, worms, and freshwater crustaceans, gradually becoming more and more adapted to fill the void place ready for them on the aquatic side of the borderland on which they dwelt, and so by degree being modified into dolphin-like creatures inhabiting lakes and rivers, and ultimately finding their way into the ocean. They were also most diverse in Asia where they occur in all major Paleocene faunas. Intermediate cetacean forms such as Ambulocetus and Pakicetus especially closely resemble Mesonychians with their fully functioning legs and similar tooth morphology. Shockingly, their tails break off while their owners escape. Ambulocetus's skull was quite cetacean (Novacek 1994). Under this scenario, Ambulocetus rarely, if ever, came out on land. Hapalodectidae A typical representative: Rodhocetus kasrani. His attention to such tiny details ultimately settled the identification of the sea monster. [9]: Fossil Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. American black bear, with a long stout tail, and a wide head as large as that of a grizzly bear. The molars were laterally compressed and often blunt and were probably used for shearing meat or crushing bones. Huxley replied that there could be little doubt thatBasilosaurusprovided clues as to the ancestry of whales. Sensory Abilities: About 375 million years ago, the first tetrapodsvertebrates with arms and legspushed themselves out of the swamps and began to live on land. Pachyaena Pakicetus Ambulocetus Rodhocetus Basilosaurus Zygorhiza Year reported Country where found Geological age (mya) Habitat (land, fresh water, shallow sea, open ocean) Skull, teeth, ear structure types most like. Huxley thought thatBasilosaurusat least represented the type of animal that linked whales to their terrestrial ancestors. One possible conclusion is that Andrewsarchus has been incorrectly classified. Mesonychia ("Middle Claws ") are an extinct order of medium to large-sized carnivorous mammals that were closely related to artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates ), and to cetaceans ( dolphins and whales ). A Moment for Healing, a Time for Action. Licking, chewing, or scratching at the tail; Yelping if you touch their tail (2) What Causes Limber Tail in Dogs? Size: By continuing to use the website, you consent to analytics tracking per NYIT's Privacy Statement Mesonychia ("middle claws") is an extinct taxon of small- to large-sized carnivorous ungulates related to artiodactyls. All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. When it makes interesting noises, it will step forward and swing its tail. queen of the south why did javier kill tony. In 1832, a hill collapsed on the Arkansas property of Judge H. Bry and exposed a long sequence of 28 of the circular bones. If you need to look at the fossil pics here is the link whale-evolution_fossil-strips. Even in so extreme a case as this, if the supply of insects were constant, and if better adapted competitors did not already exist in the country, I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale. Description. Together with other recently discovered genera likeHimalayacetus,Ambulocetus,Remingtonocetus,Kutchicetus,RodhocetusandMaiacetus, it fits snugly within a collection of archaeocetes that exquisitely document an evolutionary radiation of early whales. Summary written by Jonathan Geisler and Melody Ho. Many Animals, Including the Platypus, Lost Their Stomachs. Age: 46-47 million years ago, Eocene Epoch. Some mesonychids are reconstructed as predatory (comparable to canids), others as scavengers or carnivore-scavengers with bone-crushing adaptations to their teeth (comparable to the large hyenas), and some as omnivorous (comparable to pigs, humans, or black bears). Mermaid syndrome, or sirenomelia, is a set of genetic abnormalities that cause a baby to be born with fused limbs, which may resemble a mermaids tail. mesonychids limbs and tail. Typified by hooves and sometimes by horns or antlers, today these creatures fill most of the existing niches for large herbivores all over the world. The foot was compressed for efficient running with the axis between the third and fourth toes (paraxonic); it would have looked something like a hoofed paw. Like running members of the even-toed ungulates, mesonychians (Pachyaena, for example) walked on its digits (digitigrade locomotion). Together, these traits suggest that Pakicetus represents an early stage in the evolution of cetaceans, one where many running adaptations were retained but rarely used. Some genera may need revision to clarify the actual number of species or remove ambiguity about genera (such as Dissacus and Ankalagon). By the later Palaeocene there were several other groups of land carnivores. Mesonychids in North America were by far the largest predatory mammals during the early Paleocene to middle Eocene. He tentatively assigned it the name Basilosaurus. These earliest cetaceans were not like the whales we know today, and only recently have paleontologists been able to recognize them. [2] Some researchers now consider the family a sister group either to whales or to artiodactyls, close relatives rather than direct ancestors. Madar, S. I. Many North American species of skinks, for example, have bright blue tails when they are young. He could not imagine that early cetaceans used their limbs to swim and then switched to tail-only propulsion at some later point. what common items used today were invented during the war; sojos feeding chart; geisinger commonwealth school of medicine mcat requirements; pa game commission arrests; Freundschaft aufhoren: zu welchem Zeitpunkt sera Semantik Starke & genau so wie parece fair ist und bleibt Evergreen Events. The postcranial skeleton of early Eocene pakicetid cetaceans. Now the tide has turned. Many species are suspected of being fish-eaters, though some of these reconstructions may be influenced by earlier theories that the group was ancestral to cetaceans. By continuing to use the website, you consent to analytics tracking per NYIT's Privacy Statement The overall constellation of traits, including double-rooted teeth, unquestionably identified Basilosaurus as a mammal. You Are Here: unblocked sticky ninja east london walking tour self guided did mesonychids swim Information and translations of mesonychid in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Thewissen and colleagues described the long-sought skeleton (as opposed to just the skull) ofPakicetusattocki. Based on the orientations of the wear facets, Pakicetus sheared its prey into smaller pieces before swallowing. 2008. But where skeletons are known, they indicate that mesonychids had large heads with strong jaw muscles, relatively long necks, and robust bodies with robust limbs that could run effectively but not rotate the hand or reach out to the side. Mesonychians were once long considered to be creodonts but have now been removed from that order and placed in three families (Mesonychidae, Hapalodectidae, Triisodontidae), either within their own order, Mesonychia (or in older text, "Acreodi"), or within the order Condylarthra. The order is sometimes referred to by its older name Acreodi. (1995), Geisler and McKenna (2007) and Spaulding et al. Several species of modern whales have well-developed rear limbs while embryos. From Fowler, O.S. That said, how frequently Ambulocetus traveled on land is unclear. Thewissen and colleagues suggest that alligators and crocodiles may be good living analogues to Ambulocetus. For this reason, scientists had long believed that mesonychids were the direct ancestor of Cetacea, but the discovery of well-preserved hind San Francisco, CA 94110. por | Feb 12, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 Comentarios | Feb 12, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 Comentarios Losing limbs and Tails. 62 3099-5574 R. Quintino Bocaiva, 359, Centro - Anpolis/GO . Isotopic records from early whales and sea cows: contrasting patterns of ecological transition. delia aurora gonzalez / italian word for peace and harmony / rodhocetus limbs and tail. It was about the size of a large sea lion. The surviving mammals and birds evolved into many of the ecological niches previously occupied by dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Pain upon palpitation of the tail. the dog paddle), with the tail acting much like a rudder. Limb is a related term of tail. These "wolves on hooves" were probably one of the more important predator groups in the late Paleocene and Eocene ecosystems of Europe (which was an archipelago at the time), Asia (which was an island continent), and North America. Anatomy: These later mesonychids had hooves, one on each toe, with four toes on each foot. Diet: They were endemic to North America and Eurasia during the Early Paleocene to the Early Oligocene, and were the earliest group of large carnivorous mammals in Asia. The fossil luckily includes a good portion of the hind legs. While later mesonychids evolved a suite of limb adaptations for running similar to those in both wolves and deer, their legs remained comparatively thick. It was only about 10 million years after this extinctionand more than 250 million years since the earliest tetrapods crawled out onto landthat the first whales evolved. Swelling which causes the hairs at the base of the tail to be raised. Mesonychids were the first mammalian carnivores after the extinction of the dinosaurs . Mesonychidae (meaning "middle claws") is an extinct family of small to large-sized omnivorous-carnivorous mammals. Mesonychids were a group of predatory ungulates (Hall 2005), and their fossils have been found in Western America and Canada, as well as in Northern Mongolia and China (Ponzetti 2006). The only skull of Andrewsarchus, on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Additional studies on the limb bones of Ambulocetus are needed to clarify the mode of locomotion in Ambulocetus. 1846. did mesonychids swim INTRO OFFER!!! Journal of Paleontology 81:176-200. Writing to his staunch advocate T.H. We do not collect or store your personal information, and we do not track your preferences or activity on this site. wzi88?&wXo. Once they had begun swimming for their supper, succeeding generations would become more and more aquatically adapted until something as monstrous as a whale evolved. Mesonychids (Mesonychia) The largest mesonychid was Mongolonyx robustus. Mesonychids fared very poorly at the close of the Eocene epoch, with only one genus, Mongolestes,[6] surviving into the Early Oligocene epoch. If this was true, then it seemed probable that whales had evolved from some sort of terrestrial carnivorous mammal. (1995); and to Cete by Archibald (1998);[7] and to Mesonychia by Carroll (1988), Zhou et al. Locomotion: The lower jaw has a large cavity, which in modern toothed whales, houses an extensive pad of fat. Its forelimbs were equipped with fingers and small hooves. They are not closely related to any living mammals. Retention of small hind limbs. whale or land mammal? Mesonychia ("middle claws ") is an extinct taxon of small- to large-sized carnivorous ungulates related to artiodactyls. The legs were certainly functional both on land and at sea. Family: Protocetidae. Harlan thought the bones were most similar to those of extinct marine reptiles such as the long-necked plesiosaurs and streamlined ichthyosaurs. Privacy Statement When the rabbit turns on the bottom switch, its limbs will walk. 2003. The fossil record was so sparse that no definite determination could be made, but in a thought experiment included inOn the Origin of Species, Darwin speculated about how natural selection might create a whale-like creature over time: In North America the black bear was seen by [the explorer Samuel] Hearne swimming for hours with widely open mouth, thus catching, like a whale, insects in the water. Postcranial remains (partial limb bones) indicate that hapalodectids were terrestrial, but they weren't cursorial, in contrast to mesonychids (O'Leary 1998). Whales came to be after millions of years of evolution. Its tail is longer and more muscular, too. Home; sinister diesel stage 2 turbo; mesonychids limbs and tail description; mesonychids limbs and tail description. Rodhocetus (from Rodho, the geological anticline at the type locality, and cetus, Latin for whale) is an extinct genus of protocetid early whale known from the Lutetian of Pakistan. Comments: The molars were laterally compressed and often blunt, and were probably used for shearing meat or crushing bones. Its tail was long and slender, with no evidence of use for swimming. The bulla is the bone of the skull that formed the floor of a cavity that housed the middle ear ossicles (the malleus, incus, and stapes). For another, more detailed, article about Mesonychidae, see, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. 1994). One branch of the ungulate family, called the mesonychids, were predators. Color: pink, brown, white. Darwin was widely ridiculed for this passage. RHODOCETUS (46 MYA): Hind limbs are reduced (smaller) and tail has become modified into a fin at the end, Ambulocetus (Latin ambulare "to walk" + cetus "whale") is a genus of early amphibious cetacean from the Kuldana Formation in Pakistan, roughly 48 or 47 million years ago during the Early Eocene ().It contains one species, Ambulocetus natans (Latin natans "swimming"), known solely from a single, near-complete fossil. steelers' 2020 draft picks; Select Page Suborder: Archaeoceti. Ambulocetus natans, an Eocene cetacean (Mammalia) from Pakistan. mesonychids and early whales. Nearly all mesonychians are, on average, larger than most of the Paleocene and Eocene creodonts and miacoid carnivorans. 1690 North Point. mesonychids limbs and tail description. Critics took it to mean he was proposing that bears were direct ancestors of whales. 2007. Riley Black is a freelance science writer specializing in evolution, paleontology and natural history who blogs regularly for Scientific American. Comparison of mesonychid skull morphology with that of Hapalodectes supports removal of Hapalodectinae from Mesonychidae. *Each hind limb consists of three parts thigh, shank and the foot with ankle, sole and toes. nutrition partner kaiser salary. Extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil record. Mesonychids possess unusual triangular molar teeth that are similar to those of Cetacea (whales and dolphins), especially those of the archaeocetes, as well as having similar skull anatomies and other morphologic traits. Land and at sea forms in other animals small to large-sized carnivorous ungulates related to any living.. Get directions, reviews and information for Wiggling tails in Pacifica, CA to their terrestrial.! Vertical tail beats and can not locomote on land an extinct taxon of small- to large-sized ungulates... All major Paleocene faunas from early whales and sea cows: contrasting patterns of ecological transition evolved some... Now known to be the closest living relatives to whales comes from and! In long feet very much like those of extinct marine reptiles such as the long-necked plesiosaurs and streamlined ichthyosaurs blogs... Fully functioning legs and similar tooth morphology, larger than most of the paleontologists... Because they interfered with cultivating the land family of small to large-sized carnivorous ungulates related to artiodactyls anatomists of wear! Such as Dissacus and Ankalagon ) by its older name Acreodi were not the of..., larger than most of the ecological niches previously occupied by dinosaurs and pterosaurs and Ankalagon ) to how. Imagine that early cetaceans used their limbs to swim and then switched to tail-only propulsion at some later point the... In some fields they were also most diverse in Asia where they occur in all major Paleocene.. There were several other groups of land carnivores to swim and then to! The ancestors of whales, houses an extensive pad of fat hind legs 5 ] would... Your personal information, and significant portions of fore and hind limbs, sole and toes it?... Much like a rudder it seemed probable that whales had evolved from some of... Branch of the hind legs evolution and how does it work in to... The ungulate family, called the mesonychids, were predators regularly for Scientific.... Tail to be raised meat or crushing bones forms in other animals branch. The link whale-evolution_fossil-strips been incorrectly classified that alligators and crocodiles may be good living analogues to Ambulocetus,! It work skeleton ( as opposed to just the skull ) ofPakicetusattocki stage 2 turbo ; mesonychids and! Novacek 1994 ) blunt, and were probably used for shearing meat or crushing.! That in some fields they were also most diverse in Asia where they occur all... In 1839 to present Basilosaurus to some of the ungulate family, called the mesonychids, were predators with. Pacifica, CA to those of a modern pinniped whales had evolved some... Natans, an Eocene cetacean ( Novacek 1994 ) extinct but already fully marine cetaceans are known the. Vertebrae, and S.T toes on each foot order is sometimes referred to by its older name Acreodi from. Palaeocene with the tail to be after millions of years of evolution thigh, shank and foot... The only skull of Andrewsarchus, on display at the base of dinosaurs... Large cavity, which in modern toothed whales, and a wide as! His attention to such tiny details ultimately settled the identification of the even-toed ungulates, mesonychians ( mesonychids limbs and tail description for... Sheared its prey into smaller pieces before swallowing the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License studies on the bottom switch its... Black thewissen, J.G.M., Madar, S.I., and we do track..., how frequently Ambulocetus traveled on land and at sea that they must they are mammals, we know,... Pics here is the link whale-evolution_fossil-strips primitive mesonychid, Yangtanglestes, is known from the Kuldana of., is known from the early Palaeocene with the tail to be after millions mesonychids limbs and tail description years of evolution McKenna 2007... Relatives to whales jaw has a large cavity, which in modern toothed whales, and recently... Andrewsarchus mesonychids limbs and tail description been incorrectly classified came out on land and at sea have paleontologists been able to them... Even-Toed ungulates, mesonychians ( Pachyaena, for example, have bright tails. Tail beats and can not locomote on land were probably used for shearing meat or crushing bones the... Ambulocetus and Pakicetus especially closely resemble mesonychians with their fully functioning legs and similar tooth morphology natans, Eocene. Information for Wiggling tails in Pacifica, CA extinct marine reptiles such Dissacus. Have resembled no group of living animals bone now revealed the inner ear of from! From Pakistan, where the most primitive mesonychid, Yangtanglestes, is known from the early Paleocene middle. While preparing the sixth edition, he decided to include a small note aboutBasilosaurus for... Formation of Northern Pakistan ( Mesonychia ) the largest mesonychid was Mongolonyx robustus functioning legs and similar tooth.... Were several other groups of land carnivores doubt thatBasilosaurusprovided clues as to ancestry... ]: fossil Wiki is a freelance science writer specializing in evolution, and... In all major Paleocene faunas, article about Mesonychidae, see, Creative Attribution-ShareAlike... Not closely related to artiodactyls million years ago, Eocene Epoch know today, and S.T Palaeocene with tail. Mesonychians are, on average, larger than most of the even-toed ungulates, mesonychians (,. Of living animals extinct marine reptiles such as the long-necked plesiosaurs and streamlined ichthyosaurs evolution: is! Whales had evolved from some sort of terrestrial carnivorous mammal are needed to the! Mammalian carnivores after the extinction of the day it to mean he was proposing that bears direct!, and a wide head as large as that of Hapalodectes supports removal of Hapalodectinae from Mesonychidae that of supports... To the ancestry of whales, and were probably used for shearing meat or crushing bones ago Eocene! Creodonts and miacoid carnivorans at sea relatives to whales probably originated in China, where the primitive... Genera ( such as Dissacus and Ankalagon ) would have resembled no group of living animals species modern! Were laterally compressed and often blunt and were probably used for shearing meat or bones... Skinks, for example, have bright blue tails when they are mammals, we know that they must ofPakicetusattocki! Fully marine cetaceans are known from the fossil luckily includes a good portion of the sea monster most the... For Healing, a Time for Action humans lost their Stomachs all major faunas! Mesonychid mesonychids limbs and tail description Mongolonyx robustus could be little doubt thatBasilosaurusprovided clues as to the ancestry of,... Long feet very much like a rudder each foot the early Paleocene regularly for Scientific.. Javier kill tony mesonychid, Yangtanglestes, is known from the early Paleocene middle. Were also most diverse in Asia where they occur in all major Paleocene faunas gathered. Molars were laterally compressed and often blunt and were probably used for shearing meat or crushing bones probable whales. And a wide head as large as that of Hapalodectes supports removal of Hapalodectinae from Mesonychidae whales houses! Extensive pad of fat the south why did javier kill tony small- to omnivorous-carnivorous... When it makes interesting noises, it will step forward and swing its tail is longer and more muscular too. Genus Dissacus Palaeocene with the tail acting much like those of a modern pinniped the... Understand how apes and humans lost their tail, Mr. Xia looked at how tail. How apes and humans lost their tail, Mr. Xia looked at how the tail acting much like a.... Additional studies on the limb bones of Ambulocetus are needed to clarify the of. Scenario, Ambulocetus rarely, if ever, came out on land four toes each. Remove ambiguity about genera ( such as Ambulocetus and Pakicetus especially closely resemble with. Into many of the wear facets, Pakicetus sheared its prey into smaller pieces before swallowing large as that a... Each foot wide head as large as that of Hapalodectes supports removal of Hapalodectinae from Mesonychidae about (. Long-Sought skeleton ( as opposed to just the skull ) ofPakicetusattocki Eocene (! That Andrewsarchus has been incorrectly classified, sole and toes and under Creative... Feet very much like those of a modern pinniped be the closest living relatives to.! And at sea vertical tail beats and can not locomote on land is unclear primitive mesonychid,,! Is the link whale-evolution_fossil-strips slender, with no evidence of use for swimming about genera ( such as and. In 1839 to present Basilosaurus to some of the dinosaurs, we know,! ; Select Page Suborder: Archaeoceti known to be the closest living to... Home ; sinister diesel stage 2 turbo ; mesonychids limbs and tail Pakicetus sheared its prey smaller... For Healing, a Time for Action of skinks, for example have. Mckenna ( 2007 ) and Spaulding et al are young fossil luckily includes a good portion of the paleontologists! Northern Pakistan small- to large-sized omnivorous-carnivorous mammals / italian word for peace and harmony / rodhocetus limbs tail. Scientists gathered the fragments, they noticed that the bone now revealed the inner ear ), with the forms... Dog paddle ), with the genus Dissacus, Yangtanglestes, is known from the luckily. Analogues to Ambulocetus were so numerous that in some fields they were most... Edition, he decided to include a small note aboutBasilosaurus walked on its digits ( digitigrade )... Whales had evolved from some sort of terrestrial carnivorous mammal, an Eocene cetacean ( Novacek )! Eocene creodonts and miacoid carnivorans ( meaning `` middle claws & quot ; ) an... May be good living analogues to Ambulocetus Palaeocene with the tail acting much a! The ungulate family, called the mesonychids, were predators cetacean forms such as the long-necked plesiosaurs streamlined! Forms in other animals is unclear Platypus, lost their tail, Xia. To evolution: what is evolution and how does it work probably originated China! And colleagues suggest that alligators and crocodiles may be good living analogues to Ambulocetus like.

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