Prehistoric Whales Had Legs and Tails, Wiggled Hips


Illustration: Mary Parrish / Smithsonian Institution

Mark D. Uhen, a paleontologist from Alabama Museum of Natural History found that prehistoric whales didn't have flukes - they had legs and tails!

After analyzing the fossils for almost three years, Uhen concluded the individual had a tail, but no fluke, and that Georgiacetus wiggled its hips and moved its entire trunk up and down through the water to move forward—a swim stroke whales no longer use.

Link - Thanks Marilyn!


I've heard of this before.. in fact, from what I remember, the first whales looked strikingly similar to a furry crocodile. Before the Sahara Desert was a desert, it was a lush ocean where the first whales made their home. Go figure!
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There's no such thing as reverse evolution. Evolution is simply evolution - a living organism adapting to its environment. To say "reverse" would imply that the progression of fins to limbs is progression, and that to go from limbs to fins is regression.

The theory of the process of evolution shoudn't preclude the possiblity of a multi-celled organism adapting to it environment by going to a single-cell organism if that's what's required for its long-term survival.

Or am I crazy?
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evolution doesn't take into consideration the "long term survival" it is just the surviving reproducing individuals will pass on their traits.

in simple, the traits that you have now, are best suited for the generation before you (your parents generation) since they reproduced.
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ESU - actually what you said is natural selection, evolution is the development of traits as a result of natural selection

Anyways the Georgiacetus kinda looks like those creatures from the short lived TV show Surface
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