A lot of people are curious about what evidence there is in the fossil record for evolution.
Check out Scientific American, for a good example of whales. (There was a good article there also in 2001 about the Chemical Origins of Life, but I can't find it online) Lotsa free info, and it's drawn from modern research.
The fossil record documents much of the whales' land-to-water transition. Determining which mammalian group gave rise to these leviathans, however, has proved difficult. Scientists agree that whales are actually highly specialized ungulates, or hoofed mammals. The question has been, to which ungulates are they most closely related? Traditionally, paleontologists have posited that whales descended from extinct hyenalike creatures called mesonychians, based on dental similarities between the two groups. But in recent years molecular biologists have put forth a different hypothesis—based on DNA from living animals—asserting that the ancestors of whales were instead artiodactyls—a group whose extant members include hippopotamuses, pigs, camels and ruminants. Furthermore, several molecular studies have concluded that whales share a common artiodactyl ancestor with hippos and are thus more closely related to these animals than to any other living artiodactyl or to a mesonychian.
Now newly found fossils from Pakistan may resolve some of the confusion.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke
I am sure this would be a 'hot' topic if more 'nutters' were on board tonight. hee hee
guess it's time for me to hit the hay tonight. anyone care to join me?
oh, btw all, check out the Discovery channel late at night. That's when they air those shows on Walking with Dinosaurs and Giant Sea Creatures and similar stuff. Fascinating! I remember someone (Joel??) mentioned these shows in a recent thread.
The coolest was this giant mammal with huge flippers front and rear that had a head 1/3 the size of its body. Can you say 'Chow Down!'? Imagine getting bitten by that sucker.
Cellodreamer
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke
