Photo: Whales Had Legs, Wiggled Hips, Study Says

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The tail-powered swimming of modern whales—which include Odontoceti (toothed) whales and Mysticeti (baleen) whales—evolved from the hip-wiggling style of ancient ancestors such as Georgiacetus, according to a study published in September 2008.

Illustration by Mary Parrish/Smithsonian Institution

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