The origin of whales (order Cetacea) from a four-footed land animal is one of the best understood examples of macroevolutionary change. This evolutionary transition has been substantially elucidated by fossil finds from the Indian subcontinent in the…
In this paper we studied three related aspects of the ontogeny of the vertebral centrum of cetaceans and terrestrial mammals in an evolutionary context. We determined patterns of ontogenetic fusion of the vertebral epiphyses in bowhead whale (Balaena…
The skulls and isolated tympanics are described for the earliest whales, pakicetids, from the H-GSP Locality 62 in the Ganda Kas area in Northern Pakistan. Currently three pakicetid genera are known: Pakicetus, Ichthyolestes, and Nalacetus.…
Early cetaceans evolved from terrestrial quadrupeds to obligate swimmers, a change that is traditionally studied by functional analysis of the postcranial skeleton(1). Here we assess the evolution of cetacean locomotor behaviour from an independent…
The Eocene cetacean genera Andrewsiphius and Kutchicetus are systematically revised, their anatomy described, and their phylogenetic position analyzed. Each genus contains a single species, A. sloani and K. minimus, and both are known only from the…
Dental morphology changes dramatically across the artiodactyl-cetacean transition, and it is generally assumed that this reflects the evolutionary change from herbivory and omnivory to carnivory. To test hypotheses regarding tooth function and diet,…
The origin and early evolution of Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) is one of the best examples of macroevolution as documented by fossils. Early whales are divided into six families that differ greatly in their habitats, which varied from…
