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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Early Whales Gave Birth on Land, Fossils Reveal


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The first fossil from an extinct species of primitive, amphibious whale, called Maiacetus inuus, was found in 2000 in the Pakistani desert.

A study, published in February 2009, of the fossils—including one from a pregnant specimen—found that forty-seven million years ago whales gave birth on land.

Illustration courtesy John Klausmeyer and Bonnie Miljour/University of Michigan Museums of Natural History.