alphynix:Whalevolution Month #05 – DalanistesWhile evolution is often presented as a simple linear s
alphynix:Whalevolution Month #05 – DalanistesWhile evolution is often presented as a simple linear sequence of species, in reality things are quite a bit more complicated. Most sequential examples aren’t actually direct descendants of each other, but rather share common ancestors – and some groups split off from the “main” lineage and do their own thing entirely.Dalanistes was a member of an odd branch of the early cetaceans, the remingtonocetids. Known from northern Pakistan and western India, 48-40 million years ago, it may have grown to around 4m in length (~13ft). It had a long and narrow skull with reduced eye sockets, suggesting it had poor vision and relied on other senses to locate prey. -- source link