In Africa, the first human ancestors stood up on their hind legs to walk. The pharaohs built their pyramids. Rome rose, Rome fell. And all the while the wind continued its patient excavation. Then one day Philip Gingerich showed up to finish the job.
In a place in the Egyptian desert known as Wadi Hitan. Wander around fossil shark teeth, sea urchin spines, and the bones of giant catfish.take a look at this desert, and you can see the ocean.
Wadi Hitan is a beautiful but unforgiving place.. Along with the bones of prehistoric sea monsters, you can see the remains of unlucky humans.
At the valley ,an expedition from the University of Michigan that was digging , had discovered a large walking whale. The University of Michigan had done some earlier digging there in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 1993, during which time some 400 archaeocete and sirenian skeletons were found and mapped!
This time they came back with professor Philip D. Gingerich, a Professor of Paleontology, Geological Sciences, Biology and Anthropology as well as a Director of the Museum of Paleontology at The University of Michigan. A very experienced geologist, that’s for sure!.
So excited about his new discovery : the new whale fossil the crew has found is around 44 million years old! Wow!
This whale once had feet and used to walk on the shore before getting into the water. This oldest and most primitive walking whale had first been uncovered in Pakistan and was named pakicetus which lived 50 million years ago. However this is the first time this kind of walking whale has ever been found in any part of Africa and this time it was found in this remote barren site of Wadi El-Hitan, the Valley Of The Whales.
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