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Description
Domain of Darwin Contest entry: Whale Evolution Sequence

Download for large size image

From left to right;
1 – Skeleton of a mesonychian (53 Ma)
2 – Ambulocetus natans (50 Ma)
3 – Rhodocetus kasrani (48 Ma)
4 – Maiacetus inuus (47.5 Ma)
5 – Dorudon atrox (41-36.5 Ma)
6 – Killer whale (present day)

It’s funny that with only five fossil critters and one modern counterpart in this series, we can demonstrate a clear transition from land based mammals, to amphibious mammals, to those that spent their whole lives out in the ocean. That’s just with five! A quick search on wiki for transitional whales will demonstrate how many have already been discovered. You do the math.

There were so many I would have liked to add here, but this just got so long. Indohyus, Pakicetus, Kutchicetus, Aetiocetus, Basilosaurus, Archaeocetes (ex; Protocetus, Eocetus), Squalodonts (ex; Prosqualodon), Kentriodon, Mesocetus, ... I kept reluctantly removing animals from the sequence.

Note: these are only roughly to scale.

*I own NONE of these reconstructions by the way. I just went on a web search for skeletals and made this collage in Photoshop for the group. Please if you have the names of the people who do own these images, send them to me in a message and I will gladly give them credit in the description below.

Credit:
1 – Skeleton of a mesonychian ?
2 – Ambulocetus natans: Thewissen and others (1994) published this reconstruction of the skeleton of Ambulocetans natans (redrawn for RNCSE by Janet Dreyer).
3 – Rhodocetus kasrani: Drawing from Gingerich et al. 2001. © 2001 American Association for the Advancement of Science
4 – Maiacetus inuus: I got this from; [link] I don’t know where PZ Myers got it from.
5 – Dorodon I got this from; [link] I don’t know where PZ Myers got it from.
6 – Killer whale [link]

Description
Domain of Darwin Contest entry: Whale Evolution Sequence

Download for large size image

From left to right;
1 – Skeleton of a mesonychian (53 Ma)
2 – Ambulocetus natans (50 Ma)
3 – Rhodocetus kasrani (48 Ma)
4 – Maiacetus inuus (47.5 Ma)
5 – Dorudon atrox (41-36.5 Ma)
6 – Killer whale (present day)

It’s funny that with only five fossil critters and one modern counterpart in this series, we can demonstrate a clear transition from land based mammals, to amphibious mammals, to those that spent their whole lives out in the ocean. That’s just with five! A quick search on wiki for transitional whales will demonstrate how many have already been discovered. You do the math.

There were so many I would have liked to add here, but this just got so long. Indohyus, Pakicetus, Kutchicetus, Aetiocetus, Basilosaurus, Archaeocetes (ex; Protocetus, Eocetus), Squalodonts (ex; Prosqualodon), Kentriodon, Mesocetus, ... I kept reluctantly removing animals from the sequence.

Note: these are only roughly to scale.

*I own NONE of these reconstructions by the way. I just went on a web search for skeletals and made this collage in Photoshop for the group. Please if you have the names of the people who do own these images, send them to me in a message and I will gladly give them credit in the description below.

Credit:
1 – Skeleton of a mesonychian ?
2 – Ambulocetus natans: Thewissen and others (1994) published this reconstruction of the skeleton of Ambulocetans natans (redrawn for RNCSE by Janet Dreyer).
3 – Rhodocetus kasrani: Drawing from Gingerich et al. 2001. © 2001 American Association for the Advancement of Science
4 – Maiacetus inuus: I got this from; [link] I don’t know where PZ Myers got it from.
5 – Dorodon I got this from; [link] I don’t know where PZ Myers got it from.
6 – Killer whale [link]