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Oldest whale fossil confirms amphibious origins
Posted: Monday, December 21, 1998
The fossilised jawbone of the oldest whale yet discovered has confirmed the theory that the giant sea mammals' ancestors were amphibians. They rested and reproduced on land but dived into rivers and the ocean to fish for food.
The jawbone, complete with teeth, is 53.5m years old - 3.5m years older than previous record holder - and was found in the Simla Hills of northern India.
The rock layer which yielded the jawbone is littered with oyster shells and was deposited in a shallow ocean that once separated India and Asia. This is significant because the previous oldest-known whale fossil, unearthed in Pakistan, lay buried with the remains of only land mammals. More
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