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.