The Evolution of Whales

I find cool that both reptiles and mammals have a famous "back to the ocean" story.

Amazing! I have only one small request. Can we have a human body size comparison when showing animal sizes? It really helps to put into perspective how big they are.

It's weird yet incredibly interesting on how many times tetrapods have become semi or fully aquatic.

This channel is my favorite hidden gem. Whenever I come here, I learn something new! Much love from Brazil.

Whales are probably the outcasts at hoofed-animal family reunions.

Kinda interesting how Wales turned into a solid piece of land through evolution

So whales started out in the ocean, evolved to scurry about on land, then returned to the water where they would eventually become what we know today. Amazing, thank you for these videos and knowledge

Slight correction: belugas are not the only cetaceans without fused neck vertebrae, as the Orcaella genus dolphins (Irrawaddy and Austrialian Snub-fin) don’t have fused neck vertebrae and can move their heads independently, as well as some River dolphins (I know the Amazon can for sure, but as the river dolphins are all from different genre I won’t make statements on others) can move their heads. Of course I could be misinterpreting you, as if you mean whale in the colloquial rather than taxonomic sense then yes belugas are the only ones with bendy necks.

The evolution of Whales has always fascinated me. Happy to see this!

The fact that hippos and whales are closer to each other than anything else is surprisingly unsurprising. So the large, semi aquatic animals are close to the large, fully aquatic animals. Yeah that makes sense.

It's impossible to comprehend how slow evolution takes place, it always amazes me.

Your voice is so chill and easy. Consider doing audiobooks, probably non-fiction, seriously. Good money in it too

Indohyus, my brother. I’ve decided to search for more food in the waters. You will regret this, Pakicetus. The environment will force you to adapt”

I wonder, would these long extinct animals would have sounded completely different from all living mammals today? Or would they sound more similar but still unique?🤔

This channel is the reason I first became interested in paleontology and prehistory and now I'm pursuing a career in this field. Your channel has truly shaped my life and for that I give you my sincerest gratitude. Keep up the amazing work!

I'd love to hear the evolution of modern insects or arachnids

Mosasaurs were actually more convergent with odontocetes than they were with basilosaurids (especially Basilosaurus). Mosasaurs were becoming more oceangoing and efficient swimmers while Basilosaurus was a shallow-water predator (though fully aquatic)

This is an excellent format. Nice graphics, some film, mellow narration, all without the unnecessary bells & whistles.

I think it's fairly important to mention that the name of Basilosaurus, which was first discovered in 1834, is a result of a mistake of the archeologists who took the creature for a giant reptile. After the mistake was corrected, there were some suggestions of renaming it (sir Richard Owen proposed calling it Zeuglodon) to correct former error but they failed, as the rules of zoological nomenclature dictate using the original name given. So today we have a prehistoric cetacean which is being called a lizard.

I wonder if land is more competitive than the ocean seeing as how often land creatures conquer the sea but after the Initial wave the reverse doesn’t succeed.