Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 14, 1994 TAG: 9401140112
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"This critter is a missing link between land animals and modern whales," said J.G.M. Thewissen, a paleobiologist at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio. "It is a very complete specimen and has enough of the anatomy to teach us something about how the animal moved on land."
A report on the discovery is to be published today in the journal Science.
Thewissen said the fossil was found in deposits left by an ancient sea that once existed in Pakistan. Fossils found nearby, he said, suggest that the whale died about 50 million years ago.
"It was about the size of a big male sea lion and probably weighed 600 to 700 pounds," said Thewissen.
Many fossils of the land-dwelling ancestors of the modern whale have been found, but Thewissen said this is the first with enough fossils of the legs, vertebrae and tail to show how the animal was able to move on land and in the water.
The animal, which Thewissen calls Ambulocetus natans, had large rear feet with fully developed legs. In front, the feet are short, stubby and joined almost to the shoulder.
As a result, the walking whale actually moved by bumping along on its chest and abdomen, just lifting itself enough to lurch forward.
"That makes it look kind of clumsy," said Thewissen.
He said sea lions and seals appear clumsy on land, but are able to move short distances at a speed faster than most people can run.
In the water, Thewissen said, the ancient whale probably swam with thrusts from its hind feet and legs. He said the bones suggest there were large muscles in the back that would give the legs great power for water propulsion.
by CNB