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New Whale Species Unearthed In California Highway Dig
sciencehabit writes "Thanks to a highway-widening project in California's Laguna Canyon, scientists have identified several new species of early toothed baleen whales. The new fossils date to 17 to 19 million years ago, or the early-mid Miocene epoch, making them the youngest known toothed whales. Three of the fossils belong to the genus Morawanocetus, which is familiar to paleontologists studying whale fossils from Japan, but hadn't been seen before in California. These three, along with the fourth new species, which is of a different genus, represent the last known occurrence of aetiocetes, a family of mysticetes that coexisted with early baleen whales. Thus, they aren't ancestral to any of the living whales, but they could represent transitional steps on the way to today's whales."
Nature: creates universe, life, billions of years of different species, creatures of every conceivable size and type, vast oceans, huge forests, nicotine, sugar and alcohol.
Humans: internal combustion, digital computers, drone strikes and Minecraft.
It makes me feel tiny, insignificant and sort of helpless, and to think the same of my species.
I haven't RTFA or even summary of course, but I bet those stupid mammals got ridden down on the 5 like everyone else.
There are more of them. I can feel them moving around underfoot at times when I visit California.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Was there, or was there not, a bowl of petunias found anywhere near the whale's carcass?
I wish I had a kryptonite cross, because then you could keep Dracula and Superman away.
I think you're leaving out some of the good stuff. The moon landings and the Large Hadron Collider make me feel a bit better about what humans are able to achieve. And it's not as if we're done yet, either.
There's no point in questioning authority if you aren't going to listen to the answers.
Even before this find, whales are one of the most well documented transitions from one "kind" to another "kind" (as the creationist idiots like to call them).
Not really surprising to know that hippos and cows are the whale's closest living land relatives.
And this is totally supported by both fossil evidence and DNA evidence.
Wax on, wax off baby!
The summary says
Thus, they aren't ancestral to any of the living whales, but they could represent transitional steps on the way to today's whales.
If they're not ancestors, in what sense do they represent transitional steps? Are the two not synonymous?
If you hadn't had your study of evolution replaced by fundamental Christian teachings
Uh, no. Saying that humans have come up with internal combustion, digital computers, drone strikes, Minecraft, or anything else does not logically lead to "I believe in an Invisible Sky Daddy". On the other hand, dismissing human accomplishments as having come from "nature" does. You know, like how hand-egg players will thank their particular flavor of Invisible Sky Daddy for the skills to do what they did.
If you want to believe in an Invisible Sky Daddy, that's fine. But when you claim that the attribution of human accomplishments and advancements to humanity equates to a belief in an Invisible Sky Daddy, while the attribution of human accomplishments and advancements to "nature" does not? I don't know what to say to that, other than it feels like you are trying to be deliberately deceptive.
"I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
Um, you totally forgot beef jerky. Come on. You're better than this.
Whale jerky, like beef only better.
Give me millions of years and I'll create all sorts of cool shit. Remember that "nature" has had aeons to do all this stuff, humans have had what, 100 000 years or less? Hardly the same time scale.
HELP MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED BY AN ILLIBERAL ART STUDENT SET TO DESTROY THE INTERWEBZ!
There goes another one of ID's already weak arguments against evolution...
With creationists and IDiots, it's like this: You have two species. "Find us a transitional fossil," they ask you. You find it. "Great job", they say, "now you have to find two more transitional fossils."
Ezekiel 23:20