Have you ever thought that the world’s largest fish whale would ever walk on land? Whales can also be reptiles that can live on both water and land. Yes, this is true. A discovery in Egypt revealed that whales may also have been reptiles. There are many mysteries about the whale that came to earth about 50 million years ago. Egyptian scientists have unearthed the fossil of a quadrupedal whale found about 4.5 years ago, about which the world was still unaware. Let us know about it in detail.
Where was the fossil of a whale?
This fossil of quadrupedal whale has been found in the west desert of Egypt. Talking about the exact location, it has been found in the rocks of the middle Eocene in the Fayum Depression of the desert. Many years ago it used to be a sea. Now it is just a desert only a desert. Even before this, many materials related to the development of whales have been unearthed in this area. This is where a lot of things have been found about the Evolution of Whales. In these rocks, the whole story of the evolution of the species from semi-aquatic crocodile-like whale species to full-water whale species is hidden.
How and after whom was the naming done?
This fossilized whale species is named after the Egyptian god of death. The fossil whale was named Phaeomycetus Anubis after Anubis, the fox-headed god of death. Researchers have estimated on the basis of the fossil found that the skull of this whale will also be similar to that of a fox. Phaeomycetus is an earlier species of whale. Its period is considered to be the middle period of being completely aquatic from amphibians.
What would this quadrupedal whale look like?
Based on the fossils found, researchers have estimated that The length of Phaeomycetus Anubis would have been about 3 meters i.e. 10 feet. His weight must have been around 600 kilograms. Based on the skeleton, it was seen that there must have been strong jaws for hunting. The presence of canine in its jaws can be inferred that they may have been used to catch slippery prey such as fish. It must have been one of the top predator species in its time. They would go to the sea to hunt aquatic creatures or sea fish.
This fossil found of Phaeomycetus Anubis is currently being studied at the Mansoura University of Vertebrate Paleontology in West Egypt. This article was published in the journal Proceedings. Abdullah Gohar, the main writer there, says that – Phaeomycetus Anubis is a species of whale that is an important discovery for the paleontology of Egypt and Africa.
Some information about present-day whales
At present, there are more than 85 living species of whales. Of all the species of whales, the blue whale is the largest known fish. Its size is many times larger than that of elephants and ancient dinosaurs. For the conservation of whales, the Whaling Commission was formed in 1946, in which 88 countries are its members. Its purpose is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry.
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