TheBendableKPerucetus and Tutcetus, two recently-discovered ancient whales from the Eocene epoch. Been a good month for whale lovers all around.
#FossilFriday #perucetus #tutcetus #paleoart #paleontology #whales
Lukas VFN 🇪🇺Unveiling the tale of #Tutcetus, the 'pharaoh' of #whales who died young 41 million years ago https://phys.org/news/2023-08-unveiling-tale-tutcetus-pharaoh-whales.html
A diminutive new basilosaurid #whale reveals the trajectory of the #cetacean life histories during the #Eocene: Mohammed Antar et al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-04986-w
"it inhabited the ancient sea covering present-day #Egypt around 41 million years ago. This new #whale is the smallest #basilosaurid whale known to date and one of the oldest records of that family from #Africa"
Unveiling the tale of Tutcetus, the 'pharaoh' of whales who died young 41 million years ago
An international team of scientists, led by Egyptian researchers, has made a groundbreaking discovery of a new species of extinct whale, Tutcetus rayanensis, that inhabited the ancient sea covering present-day Egypt around 41 million years ago. This new whale is the smallest basilosaurid whale known to date and one of the oldest records of that family from Africa. Despite its tiny size, Tutcetus has provided unprecedented insights into the life history, phylogeny, and paleobiogeography of early whales.