Breaking

An extinct giant dolphin behaved like a killer whale, study finds - CNN
Jul 09, 2020 1 min, 19 secs
This kind of repeated evolution of similar ecologies is the basis of so many studies of how evolution works in the long term."

How a rare skeleton was discovered

The rarity of Oligocene Epoch whale skeletons has hindered research efforts to understand the evolution of modern whales' locomotion that is powered by their flukes (tails) but controlled by their forelimbs, the study said.

The skeleton suggested that the features involving their flippers and locomotion might have evolved more recently than 35 million years ago, which was the previous assumption, said study coauthor Robert Boessenecker, a research associate and adjunct instructor in the department of biology and environmental geosciences at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

They found that features of the dolphin's skeleton beyond its neck implied that modern baleen and toothed whales, though separate, might have evolved similar characteristics due to the parallel evolution in the similar aquatic environments they inhabited.

"The resulting pattern is unexpected given just what we know about the [living animals]," said John Gatesy, a senior research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History who wasn't involved in the study.

After this ancient dolphin went extinct about 23 million years ago, shark-toothed dolphins and giant killer sperm whales evolved to occupy Ankylorhiza's position within 5 million years.

After killer sperm whales faded away about 5 million years ago, the ecological spot was open until the evolution of killer whales during the ice ages, roughly 2 million years ago.

"There are many other unique and strange early dolphins and baleen whales from Oligocene aged rocks in Charleston, South Carolina," Boessenecker said in a press release.

RECENT NEWS

SUBSCRIBE

Get monthly updates and free resources.

CONNECT WITH US

© Copyright 2024 365NEWSX - All RIGHTS RESERVED