Pakicetus, A Four-Legged Furry Carnivore That Was a Prehistoric Ancestor to Whales and Dolphins

PBS Nova explained how a small, furry prehistoric four-legged, semi-aquatic carnivore called the Pakicetus was a direct ancestor to fully aquatic whales and dolphins. This was determined by a bone that was found in current-day Pakistan during a 1981 archeological dig. The bone was from the animals ear and turned out to be the same bone that whales and dolphins have to hear underwater. In other words, this animal was a walking whale.

When you look at this covering, bone covering the ear, it’s very dense. It’s thickened. It has a sloping surface on this side and in modern mammals those are only found in whales and why? To enable them to hear in water. This ear bone unique to whales and dolphins helps them locate the direction of sounds underwater.