Earliest Ancestors of Today’s Dolphins Discovered

Life reconstruction of Olympicetus thalassodon pursuing a school of fishes alongside plotopterid birds (background) somewhere in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Credit: Art by Cullen Townsend

Paleontologists have discovered a new species of toothed whale, Olympicetus thalassodon, which lived 28 million years ago and offers insights into the evolution of modern dolphins. This species, along with two other similar odontocetes found in the same area, belong to the Simocetidae family, which forms part of the early diverging groups of toothed whales. The study, however, leaves questions about…

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News Source: scitechdaily.com


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