Baleen whales, such as humpback whales, are well known for communicating with “whale songs” but vocalising under water is not easy for an air-breathing mammal as air must be kept out of the respiratory passages when the animal is diving. Try talking under water when you are holding your breath. A group of scientists have […]
“Ancient four-legged whale” found, claim ScienceDaily 4 April 2019, BBC News 5 April 2019, about a fossil described in Current Biology 4 April 2019 doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.050. An international team of palaeontologists from Peru, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium who were exploring in Peru have found a jaw bone, forelimb and hind limb bones, the […]
Why don’t whales get the bends, ask scientists in articles in ScienceDaily 25 April 2018 and Proceedings of the Royal Society B 25 April 2018 doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0482. Ever since decompression sickness was known about in human divers scientists have been intrigued as to why diving animals such as whales, dolphins and sea turtles seem to […]
“When whales walked the earth” proclaimed the cover of Nature, 20 Sep 2001, which featured two fossils that palaeontologists claim to be “archaic cetaceans,” i.e. primitive whales. According to the report in Nature vol 413, p277, the two fossils are named Pakicetus attocki and Ichthyolestes pinfoldi and had skulls, leg bones and backbones similar in […]