Why are whale fossils in desert?

Why are whale fossils in desert?

More likely, says lead Smithsonian researcher Nicholas Pyenson, the area was once a “lagoon-like environment” that somehow became closed off from the open ocean. The whales either died when the lagoon dried up, or when a natural disaster (such as an earthquake or landslide) sealed them off from the sea.

What does the fossil record suggest about the ancestors of whales?

Fossils provide lots of evidence about the ancestors of whales. For example it shows that a land mammal lived between 50 million and 70 million years ago. Scientists think whales evolved from these ocean-dwelling mammals. They can tell this and more cell from a fossil.

Are there whale fossils in mountains?

Scientists have found fossils of whales and other marine animals in mountain sediments in the Andes, indicating that the South American mountain chain rose very rapidly from the sea. But since then, the violent upthrusting of the Andean chain has carried the sediments to the tops of mountains.

How did fossilized whales come to be found in the sands of Egypt’s desert?

The fossils were discovered when they emerged from the shifting sands and stunned the world. The area is now known as Wadi Al-Hitan or Whale Valley named after the invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, the Archaeoceti. It has been declared as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Is the fossil record for whales complete?

However, the oldest whale fossils known are approximately 50 million years old, and it is unlikely that the closest relatives of whales are still living. Therefore, it was up to paleontologists to find the artiodactyl that is most closely related to whales among the extinct diversity of even-toed ungulates.

How did fossil evidence help prove that whales are evolved from a land mammal?

Looking at a whale’s body and biology, there are plenty of clues that their ancestors lived on land. They breathe air and nurse their young with their own milk, they also have paddle-shaped flippers which encase hand bones with five ‘fingers’. As embryos, whales have tiny back limbs which disappear before birth.

Where is whale graveyard?

The Whale Graveyard is a coastline filled with whale carcasses found on the eastern shores of Ard Skellig. A local group of pirates have established its camp here, looking for valuable fossils to sell. According to skelligers, whales came to die here ever since the time of Hemdall when the king of whales died there.

How did whales end up in the desert?

How did 75 whales end up in the desert? Rows of prehistoric bones unearthed in one of the most significant discoveries of its kind. Some believe they became disoriented and beached themselves, while others claim they were moved by a landslide and became trapped in a lagoon.

How did marine fossils come to be high in the Andes mountains?

What is fossilized dinosaur poop called?

Coprolites
Coprolites are the fossilised faeces of animals that lived millions of years ago. They are trace fossils, meaning not of the animal’s actual body. A coprolite like this can give scientists clues about an animal’s diet.

Was a whale fossil found in Egypt?

Egyptian scientists say the fossil of a four-legged prehistoric whale, unearthed more than 10 years ago in the country’s Western Desert, is that of a previously unknown species. The creature, an ancestor of the modern-day whale, is believed to have lived 43 million years ago.

Did the South American mountain chain rise from the sea?

Scientists have found fossils of whales and other marine animals in mountain sediments in the Andes, indicating that the South American mountain chain rose very rapidly from the sea.

How did the Andes mountains get their top?

When these animals died from 15 million to 20 million years ago, their carcasses settled to the ocean floor and were embedded in submarine sediments. But since then, the violent upthrusting of the Andean chain has carried the sediments to the tops of mountains.

How old are the fossils found in Chile?

Because the fossils are only 15 or 16 million years old, they demonstrate that a shallow seaway extended all the way from the Atlantic to eastern Chile.” Nearly as important, he adds, “Chile taught me to leave no stone unturned. We found fossil treasures there in the most unlikely and isolated spots.”