Boesse Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10...al.pone.0004366 A new protocetid genus has been described, Maiacetus (good mother whale; slightly reminiscent of the good mother lizard, Maiasaura), from the Eocene of Pakistan. One of two skeletons found had a fossil near-term fetal skeleton inside. Interestingly, the fetus would have been born head first, like terrestrial artiodactyls (the closest relatives of whales), as opposed to tail first like modern cetaceans, indicating that protocetids (just as predicted) came ashore to give birth. Bobby p.s. the article is in the journal PLOS one, so it is free for everyone to get the pdf. It is a really beautiful fossil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 thats very cool thanks bobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmytee Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 yeah i saw this... pretty cool, i have always heard of the ancestors of the whale but i never have actually seen what it looks like. I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day. ~ E. B. White Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Thanks, Bobby! This find makes me want to tramp the foothills around Quetta! http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Well, Harry, you know there are quite a few eocene Protocetid fossils from the southeast... like Natchitochia, and the fairly well known Georgiacetus. If I remember correctly, Georgiacetus is the most advanced protocetid, and probably near the direct ancestry of Basilosauridae. All I have to say about that article is wow. And, dang!, I guess. Bobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 That's an amazing find; given your field of study, it must be very exciting! Thanks for the link, it's a great story; I hope it gets play in the popular press. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Well, Harry, you know there are quite a few eocene Protocetid fossils from the southeast... like Natchitochia, and the fairly well known Georgiacetus. If I remember correctly, Georgiacetus is the most advanced protocetid, and probably near the direct ancestry of Basilosauridae.All I have to say about that article is wow. And, dang!, I guess. Bobby Eocene whales are pretty rare in Florida. They are much more commone to the north and to the west (Mississippi) of me. That said, I do have one basilosaurid vertebra from Florida. It's on my back step, and it has grown a halo of resurrection fern over the years. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 Great, very interesting, thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Great posting! What an exceptional find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Early Whales Gave Birth On Land, Fossil Find Reveals ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2009) — Two newly described fossil whales---a pregnant female and a male of the same species--reveal how primitive whales gave birth and provide new insights into how whales made the transition from land to sea Find the article HERE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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