Evolution of the Whale

Indohyus was not the ancestor of whales, but was almost certainly its cousin. But if we go back four million more years, to fifty-two million years ago, we see what might well be that ancestor. It is a fossil skull from a wolf-sized creature called Pakicetus, which is a bit more whale-like than Indohyus, having simpler teeth and more whale-like ears. Pakicetus still looked nothing like a modern whale, so if you had been around to see it, you wouldn’t have guessed that it or its close relati...