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40-Million-Year-Old 'Walking Whale' Fossil Found In Peru

Posted by samzenpus on from the a-long-time-ago dept.

minty3 writes "Found in the Ocucaje Desert in southern Peru, the fossils belong to a group called Achaeocetes, or ancient whales, that possess both land and sea-dwelling characteristics. Over time, the ancient land animals adapted to water environments where their legs became fin-like and their bodies began to resemble modern sea mammals like dolphins and whales."

3 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. That's Archaeocetes! by palemantle · · Score: 4, Informative

    Archaeocetes = ancient whales. Achaeocetes = typo. Is a basic spell check too much to ask?

  2. Re:Huge teeth by Gavagai80 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Nor are modern whales. Some even eat other species of whales.

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  3. Re:Dodgy Source by Sockatume · · Score: 4, Informative

    Nope, you need to go deeper. They're reporting it from Euronews:

    http://www.euronews.com/2013/09/14/peru-discovers-whale-fossils-in-desert-dating-back-40-million-years/

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