Egyptian scientists discover fossil of quadrupedal whale that lived on land and at sea – Demotivator

Egyptian scientists have discovered a 43-million-year-old fossil. The latter is that of a species of four-legged whale that walked on land and swam in water.

Credit: Abdullah Gohar

This historic find offers many clues as to how the first whales went from being land animals to being sea creatures. The study of the recovered bones was recently published in the specialist journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Named “Phiomicetus anubis”, the newly discovered species is part of a group of whales semi-aquatic called Protocetidae.

According to the report of experts who had the chance to analyze the fossil, the latter existed at the time of the Eocene, 56 million to 33.9 million years ago.

Because they are amphibious, Protocetidae represent a unique stage in the evolution of whales that still remains largely a mystery to researchers.

Credit: Abdullah Gohar

According to the study, the Phiomectus anubis was 3 meters long and weighed about 600 kilos. The researchers involved in the project came to the conclusion that the extinct animal had a head in the shape of a jackal.

He was also blessed with a powerful jaw that made him a formidable predator to the other species that lived alongside him. His skull is one of the main reasons the research team named it after the Egyptian god of death Anubis.

“We have discovered how fierce and deadly its powerful jaws are, capable of tearing apart a wide range of prey. This whale was a god of death for most of the animals that evolved in its habitat ” said Abdullah Gohar, paleobiologist specializing in cetaceans. He also proudly explained that it was the first time that an Arab team had discovered, scientifically described and named a whale fossil.

Credit: Hesham Sallam / Twitter

A fossil discovered in Egypt’s Fayum region

The fossil comes from the region of Fayum, in the western desert ofEgypt, which was once an underwater region, where many other Protocetids have been discovered since German paleontologist Eberhard Fraas first unearthed in 1904.

The researchers studied it from all angles at the center of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Mansoura, in the laboratory of the co-author and founder of the center, the scientist Hesham Sallam.

Awesome, isn’t it?