From Land to Water: the Origin of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises |
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| Authors: | J. G. M. Thewissen Lisa Noelle Cooper John C. George Sunil Bajpai |
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| Affiliation: | (1) Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA;(2) Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA;(3) School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA;(4) Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Box 69, Barrow, AK 99723, USA;(5) Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, 247 667, Uttarakhand, India |
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| Abstract: | ![]()
Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are an order of mammals that originated about 50 million years ago in the Eocene epoch. Even though all modern cetaceans are obligate aquatic mammals, early cetaceans were amphibious, and their ancestors were terrestrial artiodactyls, similar to small deer. The transition from land to water is documented by a series of intermediate fossils, many of which are known from India and Pakistan. We review raoellid artiodactyls, as well as the earliest families of cetaceans: pakicetids, ambulocetids, remingtonocetids, protocetids, and basilosaurids. We focus on the evolution of cetacean organ systems, as these document the transition from land to water in detail. |
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| Keywords: | Dolphins Whales Porpoises Evolution Cetacea Mammals |
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