The Evolution of Whales is No Longer a Mystery

Super fact 85 : Scientists recognized that whales descended from land animals already in the 19th century. However, it was not until the 1980’s that intermediate fossils for whale evolution were found. In addition, molecular and genetic / DNA studies showed that Hippopotamus and whales were closely related. Until then the evolution of whales was a bit of a mystery and creationists frequently mocked the lack of intermediate fossils for whale evolution.

This graph shows pictures of a sperm whale, gray whale and hippopotamus on the right, and two whale ancestors at the top and they are connected via lines ultimately showing the common connection point on the far left. | The Evolution of Whales is No Longer a Mystery
All living cetaceans including whales, dolphins, porpoises, sperm whales and hippopotamids / hippopotamus belong to a suborder of artiodactyls called whippomorpha. Just like humans and chimpanzees have a common ancestor hippopotamus and whales have a common ancestor. Note: I created this image by inserting a few pictures from Wikipedia commons including a mother sperm whale and her calf off the coast of Mauritius, a gray whale in captivity, a hippopotamus and two pre-historic whales (from the section Evolution of Whales – Intermediate Fossils). All pictures are shown below.
The picture shows a mother and calf sperm whale swimming in the ocean.
Sperm whales from Wikimedia commons. A mother sperm whale and her calf off the coast of Mauritius. The calf has remoras attached to its body.
The picture shows a gray whale in water. | The Evolution of Whales is No Longer a Mystery
A gray whale in captivity. Marine Mammal Commission, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Portrait of a Hippopotamus in water in Saadani National Park. Muhammad Mahdi Karim, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.

Scientists realized hundreds of years ago that whales were a lot more like mammals than fish, in fact they were mammals. However, the fact that no intermediate fossils between land dwelling mammals and whales had been found presented a mystery and attracted the mockery by creationists. It was said that there was a missing link. Then intermediate fossils were found, and then a lot more of them.

In addition, DNA analysis of modern whales and hippopotamus showed that they were related and had a common ancestor. Just like chimpanzees and humans have a common ancestor, but chimpanzees are not an ancestor to humans, hippopotamus and whales have a common ancestor, but whales did not evolve from hippopotamus. To read more about the evolution of whales click here, or here, or here, or here, or here, or here, or here.

The thing with gaps in the fossil record or so called missing links is that as they are filled out new gaps are created, smaller gaps. Therefore, you can always claim that there are gaps. So be careful when you hear creationists speaking of missing links or gaps in the fossil record. Instead focus on the intermediate fossils that we have found and keep finding.

The fact that we’ve found a lot of intermediate fossils for the evolution of whales and that DNA tells us that Hippos and Whales are related and have a common ancestor probably comes as a surprise to many. It was certainly a surprise to me when I heard it the first time. It is true and kind of important to know. Therefore, I consider this a super fact.

Evolution of Whales – Intermediate Fossils

The first intermediate fossil found between land mammals and whales was Pakicetus found in Pakistan in 1983. You may wonder how we know that Pakicetus was related to whales. This evidence includes its fossilized ear bone (auditory bulla), which possesses a unique, thickened shape called an involucrum that is found only in cetaceans. Pakicetus also shares whale-like teeth, an ankle bone and a skull structure similar to other early whale like creaturs. Since the discovery of Pakicetus a lot more whale ancestors (intermediate fossils) have been found. Below is a list with illustrations of the various intermediate fossils.

Pakicetus: The illustration shows a four legged carnivorous mammal with a tail and an elongated snout.
Pakicetus inachus, a whale ancestor from the Early Eocene of Pakistan, after Nummelai et al., (2006), pencil drawing, digital coloring. It lived 48-49 million years ago. Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.
Indohyus: The illustration shows a four legged carnivorous mammal with a tail and an elongated snout. | The Evolution of Whales is No Longer a Mystery
Indohyus major, a herbivorous whale ancestor from the Middle Eocene of Kashmir, pencil drawing, digital coloring. It lived 48-49 million years ago. Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.
Ambulocetus: The illustration shows a four legged carnivorous mammal with a tail and an elongated snout.
Ambulocetus natans, a primitive whale from the Early Eocene of Pakistan, pencil drawing, digital coloring. It lived 48-49 million years ago. Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Kutchicetus: The illustration shows a carnivorous mammal with short legs, a tail and an elongated snout. It is swimming in the ocean.
Kutchicetus minimus, an early whale from the middle Eocene of India. Pencil drawing, digital coloring. It lived 48 million years ago. Nobu Tamura, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Remingtonocetus: The illustration shows a carnivorous mammal with short legs, a tail and an elongated snout. It is swimming in the ocean.
Remingtonocetus harudiniensis, an archaeocete whale from the Middle Eocene of India, pencil drawing, digital coloring. It lived 48 million years ago. Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Maiacetus. It lived 47.5 million years ago. | The Evolution of Whales is No Longer a Mystery
Maiacetus. It lived 47.5 million years ago. Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Rodhocetus: The illustration shows a mammal with short legs swimming in the ocean. It has flat feet, a tail and an elongated snout. It looks even more like a sea creature now.
Rodhocetus kasrani, an archaeoceti whale from the late Eocene of Pakistan, digital. It lived 45 million years ago. Nobu Tamura, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.
Dorudon: The illustration shows a mammal with fins swimming in the ocean. It has flat feet, a tail and an elongated snout. It looks even more like a sea creature now.
Dorudon atrox, an ancestral whale from the Late Eocene of Egypt, pencil drawing, digital coloring. It lived 35 million years ago. Nobu Tamura, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Aetiocetu: The illustration shows a fish or whale looking creature swimming in the ocean.
Aetiocetus cotylalveus, an early baleen whale from the Late Oligocene of Oregon, pencil drawing, digital coloring. It lived 27 million years ago. Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Squalodon: The illustration shows a fish or dolphin looking creature swimming in the ocean. | The Evolution of Whales is No Longer a Mystery
Squalodon calvertensis, a toothed whale from the Late Miocene of North America, pencil drawing, digital coloring. It lived 25 million years ago. Nobu Tamura, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.
Janjucetus: The illustration shows a fish or whale looking creature swimming in the ocean.
Janjucetus hunderi, a Mysticeti whale from the Oligocene of Australia, digital work. It lived 25 million years ago.  Nobu Tamura   email:nobu.tamura@yahoo.com   http://www.palaeocritti.comderivative work: Niusereset, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.
Kentriodon: The illustration shows a dolphin looking creature swimming in the ocean.
Kentriodon pernix, an odontocete dolphin-like whale from the Miocene, pencil drawing, digital coloring. It lived 20 million years ago. Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com/2012/06/kentriodon-pernix.html?q=Kentriodon), CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Aulophyseter: The illustration shows a creature that looks a bit like a sperm whale swimming in the ocean. | The Evolution of Whales is No Longer a Mystery
Aulophyseter morricei, a sperm whale from the Middle Miocene of California. It lived 20 million years ago. Nobu Tamura, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cetotherium: The illustration shows a creature that looks like a modern gray whale swimming in the ocean.
Cetotherium furlongi, a baleen whale from the mid-Late Miocene of Europe, Russia and North America, digital. It lived 18 million years ago. Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons.
Brygmophyseter: The illustration shows a creature that looks like a sperm whale swimming in the ocean.
Brygmophyseter shigensis (aka as Nagacetus shigensis), a sperm whale from the Mid Miocene of Japan. Digital. It lived 15 million years ago. Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
To see the other Super Facts click here

Unknown's avatar

Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

60 thoughts on “The Evolution of Whales is No Longer a Mystery”

    1. Yes I feel the same way. A million years is a very long time. It reminds me of a quote from “Once upon a time in the west”, Cheyenne – “Hey, more than that. Thousands of thousands.” Harmonica: – “They call them ‘millions.'” And 50 million years is still more than a million years.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

        1. It is very difficult. However, I think comparing it with distances help. If one year is a millimeter, an inch is a quarter century, a human life 3 inches, a thousand years a meter (three feets), a million years a kilometer (62% of a mile), then 50 million years is 31 miles.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

          1. I might be able to imagine time that way, but distance as in what’s beyond the farthest star…. If you go to the end of the universe, there has to be something beyond it, and if you could go to the end of that, then what comes after that, and on and on and on….

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply

            1. Yes we can see 46.5 billion light years away “The Edge of the Observable Universe is 46.5 billion Light Years Away” but we could never get there because of the limits of the speed of light we could never reach beyond 16 billion years. But what is beyond the edge of the Universe at 46.5 billion light years away? Since we could never reach it and cannot ever see it we will never know. Does the Universe stretch for infinity? Maybe, but what exist beyond 46.5 billion light years is the mysterious beyond. Some Things Cannot be Known.

              Liked by 1 person

              Reply

    1. Yes you are right whales are amazing and very intelligent. Perhaps Whales are much smarter than Hippos just like we humans are much smarter than chimpanzees. Oh wait, recent history seems to contradict that. Let me rephrase that “Perhaps Whales are much smarter than Hippos just like chimpanzees are much smarter than humans.”

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. A very interesting article, Thomas! And personally, a source of rejoicing, having in mind that studying whales and dolphins was the reason I became a marine biologist. Loved to go through the evolutionary aspects of cetaceans and to know that whales and hippos had a common ancestor. Thank you for this great share. Much enjoyed! Light and blessings to you, always! ✨🙏

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much Susana for your very kind words. It certainly feels good to have the approval of a marine biologist. Whales and dolphins are certainly very interesting and amazingly intelligent. Light and blessings to you too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

            1. Yes I think I’d rather meet an Orca than a Hippo even though I know that Orcas can be dangerous too. We met an Orca at the backstage tour at Sea World and all he did was throwing buckets and balls at us. At least he did not try to bite us in half like a Hippo. I also don’t think Hippos are smart enough to figure out how to throw buckets and balls.

              Like

              Reply

  12. Thank you for the informative article. I knew that whales and hippos had a common ancestor, but wasn’t aware that so much of the evolution from their common land-dwelling ancestor to modern sea-dwelling whales had been traced. As you could probably guess from reading my novel The Solar Sea, whales are very fascinating to me, so I really appreciate this insight into their ancestry.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much David. Yes it wasn’t that long ago that they did not have any intermediate fossils between land dwelling mammals and whales and they found one and then a lot more. I certainly remember your fun and exciting science fiction book and the whales singing in binary code.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  14. I didn’t know that Hippos and Whales have a common ancestor or that whales evolved from land mammals (I always thought that creatures started in the ocean and moved onto land). That’s so interesting that some made the opposite evolutionary journey. Interesting not about gaps in the fossil record too. It makes sense that the gaps don’t go away, but get smaller. We’re talking millions of years of history here – which is fascinating all by itself. Thanks for the lesson. And the visuals!

    Like

    Reply

    1. Yes it was a mystery for a long time. Scientists figured out that amphibians evolved into land animals such as reptiles and then dinosaurs and mammals, but somehow there were mammals in the sea, the whales and dolphins. They figured out that mammals could not have evolved in the sea, that happened on land, but how did whales end up in the sea? They figured some mammals must have returned to the sea but there were no internediate fossils and creationists rejecting evolution were mocking them. Then in 1983 they found a Pakicetus fossil, a land mammal eating fish, that had some bone structures that only whales have. Then they found another fossil and another fossil…etc.

      Then DNA analysis showed Hippos and Whales were related. Hippos don’t have the whale bone structure that Pakicetus had so the Hippo branch split before Pakicetus, but an ancient mammal was the ancestor to Hippos as well as Pakicetus and modern whales.

      BTW today is Hippo day as well as Whale Day, so you could call today Whippomorpha day.

      Thank you so much Diane and I hope you and your husband stay safe.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  15. Pingback: Early Homo Sapiens lived at the same time as many other human species – Super Facts

  16. I must have known a little of this when I researched whales in the late 70s in college. I was particularly interested in the intelligence of whales and dolphins around the time I changed my major from biology to psych. So now I’m wondering about the intelligence of hippos. Thanks for taking me back to an old love. The pictures and post are fascinating!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I should say that the various fossils and the DNA analysis was not available in the 1970’s but scientists knew that whales descended from land mammals. They just didn’t have the details yet. I’ve been making jokes about the intelligence of Hippos but I’ve read that they are actually quite intelligent mammals but not as intelligent as whales.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

        1. Well to Lynette I wrote “perhaps Whales are much smarter than Hippos just like we humans are much smarter than chimpanzees. Oh wait, recent history seems to contradict that. Let me rephrase that “Perhaps Whales are much smarter than Hippos just like chimpanzees are much smarter than humans.”

          To Java Bean I wrote : “Hippos are not as smart as whales…oops sorry about that Hippo.” — Java Bean: “Ayyy, do not make the hippo angry!!!” — me : “Yes you are right Java Bean, an angry Hippo is very dangerous. We better run.”

          After describing an encounter with an Orca throwing balls and buckets at us at Sea World: “I also don’t think Hippos are smart enough to figure out how to throw buckets and balls.”

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

            1. No that is certainly not what I meant. I hardly ever read other people’s comments on other posts. Don’t read other people’s comments and my responses. You will just waste your time. I was just listing the jokes I made elsewhere because you asked me to share my jokes. Thank you so much JoAnna.

              Liked by 1 person

              Reply
  17. Pingback: Do You Know About Super Facts – Leonberger Life
  19. Pingback: There is Strong Evidence for Macroevolution – Super Facts

Leave a reply to JoAnna Cancel reply