The Walking Whales: From Land to Water in Eight Million YearsHans Thewissen, a leading researcher in the field of whale paleontology and anatomy, gives a sweeping first-person account of the discoveries that brought to light the early fossil record of whales. As evidenced in the record, whales evolved from herbivorous forest-dwelling ancestors that resembled tiny deer to carnivorous monsters stalking lakes and rivers and to serpentlike denizens of the coast. Thewissen reports on his discoveries in the wilds of India and Pakistan, weaving a narrative that reveals the day-to-day adventures of fossil collection, enriching it with local flavors from South Asian culture and society. The reader senses the excitement of the digs as well as the rigors faced by scientific researchers, for whom each new insight gives rise to even more questions, and for whom at times the logistics of just staying alive may trump all science. In his search for an understanding of how modern whales live their lives, Thewissen also journeys to Japan and Alaska to study whales and wild dolphins. He finds answers to his questions about fossils by studying the anatomy of otters and porpoises and examining whale embryos under the microscope. In the book's final chapter, Thewissen argues for approaching whale evolution with the most powerful tools we have and for combining all the fields of science in pursuit of knowledge. |
Contents
A Wasted | 1 |
Fish Mammal or Dinosaur? The King Lizard of Cape | 9 |
A Whale with Legs | 35 |
Learning to Swim | 51 |
When the Mountains Grew | 67 |
Passage to India | 79 |
A Trip to the Beach | 93 |
The Otter Whale | 111 |
The River Whales | 137 |
Whales Conquer the World | 157 |
From Embryos to Evolution | 181 |
Before Whales | 191 |
The Way Forward | 207 |
78 | 210 |
| 236 | |
| 239 | |
Other editions - View all
The Walking Whales: From Land to Water in Eight Million Years J. G. M. Thewissen Limited preview - 2014 |
The Walking Whales: From Land to Water in Eight Million Years J. G. M. Hans Thewissen Limited preview - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
Ambulocetidae Ambulocetus Anatomy ancestors Andrewsiphius animal Aquatic Archaeoceti Arif artiodactyls Bajpai baleen whales basilosaurids BMP4 bowhead whale brain Carnegie stage cavity chapter Cladistics cladogram cusps Dehm dolphins Dorudon early whales embryos Emergence of Whales Eocene Eocene Cetaceans Eocene whales Evolution evolutionary femur FGF8 figure forelimb fossil whales fossils freshwater Haruka hind limb bud hippos incus India Indohyus isotope J. G. M. Thewissen Journal of Paleontology Journal of Vertebrate Kutch Kutchicetus land mammals limb bud lived locality 62 look lower jaw mandibular foramen Marine Mammals mesonychians Middle Eocene million years ago modern cetaceans modern whales molars Museum ocean odontocetes ossicles P.D. Gingerich pakicetids Pakicetus Pakistan Paleontology pelvis protein Protocetid Whale Raju Ranga Rao remingtonocetids rocks S.T. Hussain Sahni seawater shape skeleton skull species swimming tail teeth Thewissen New York tion tooth development toothed whales tympanic plate Uhen underwater vertebrae Vertebrate Paleontology walk wear