Speaking to the Earth's incredible biodiversity, scientists have discovered that Cetaceans, the infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes a variety of dolphins and whales, originated from a small, four-legged, hoofed ancestor that could walk on land as well as swim.
Found amidst 42.6-million-year-old marine sediments along the coast of Peru, the ancient creature, named Peregocetus pacificus, rewrites the history of what is known about ancient cetaceans. While it was previously known that whales descended from land-based animals like the Ambulocetidae, these animals all existed in the Atlantic, often near the area now known as Pakistan.
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