Valley of Whales (Wadi Al-Hitan)
The Egyptian whale Valley contains over 400 primitive whale skeletons that offer a portrait of the evolution of these marine animal -animal creatures – which have had feet and fingers.
The Valley of Whales (“Wadi Al-Hitan” in Arabic) is a region of the Egyptian Sarah Desert that is splanded with archaic whale skeletons, some of which have preserved feet and fingers.
According to, these skeletons and other marine fossils date from the late eocene era (55.8 million to 33.9 million years ago), when current Egypt was submerged in the Ocean Tetis and whales had just evolved into sea creatures.
“These fossils represent one of the greatest stories of evolution: The appearance of the whale as an ocean mammal from a previous life as a terrestrial animal, ”says the United Nations for Education, Science and Culture.
Paleontologists have discovered more than 400 old whale skeletons in the Valley of Whales since the early twentieth century. The first of these discoveries in 1902 revealed a kind of whale never before seen called Basilosauurus ISIS (previously Zeuglodon isis).
This whale reached up to 18 meters in length and probably ate smaller whales, crushing their skulls before swallowing them, according to one.
But it was in 2005 that paleontologists discovered a skeleton of B. isis almost completely and amazingly preserved, which led UNESCO to classify the Valley of Whales as World.
Vale das Baleias is an outdoor museum with a visitor center and easy access to tourists, but the place is strictly protected. Scientists continue to find new fossils and learn more about the geology of the area.
Whales with fingers and feet
The researchers found dozens of skeletons of B. isis In Whale Valley, but in 1989, paleontologists made a remarkable discovery.
A team from the University of Michigan and the Egyptian Geological Museum B. isis with hind limbs, feet and toes – As shown, in the study.
As Live Science says, current whales do not have hind limbs, but still have pelvic bones that indicate that they have already had them. This means that Whale Valley’s fossils are some of the oldest known archaecetes, a group of eocene mammals that later evolved into current whales and dolphins.
