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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."

9 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Invertibrate Whales? by rufty_tufty · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They lost their spine and hind legs 5 million years later

    I can see why slashdotters don't read the article if the article claims things like whales are invertebrates ;-)

    --
    "The weirdest thing about a mind, is that every answer that you find, is the basis of a brand new cliche" -
  2. I was wondering by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Funny

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

    I was wondering what had happened to Cowboy Neil. Glad they found him again.

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

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

    1. Re:That's Archaeocetes! by loufoque · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How many people have Latin spell-checking installed?

  4. Huge teeth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Those teeth suggest that the old whales weren't exactly the "peaceful giants of the sea".

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

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

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      This space intentionally left blank
  5. WhaleMart by bickerdyke · · Score: 5, Funny

    Aren't walking whales quite common at places like Walmart?

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    bickerdyke
  6. Re:New BBC Series by ozbon · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's got to be better than "Walking in Wales"

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    I say we take off and nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...
  7. 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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    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?