The ancestor of whales looked like a deer

Some scientists have previously argued that whales descended from a land ancestor, but IT was not possible to establish the "missing link", according to the BBC.

A team of researchers led by anatomy professor Hans Thewissen of Ohio State University studied the remains of Indonyus, a fox-sized animal that looks like a modern African mouse deer (chevrotain) with a rat nose, which jumps into the water in case of danger and hides there.

Outwardly, Indonyus is not at all like modern whales, but undoubtedly they have certain common anatomical features, says G. Thewissen. The structure of the skeleton and auricle is very similar to that of early cetaceans and, like most animals that spend a lot of time in the water, thickened bones are observed in Indonyus, which helped the animal to stay in shallow water.

Indonyus belonged to an ancient branch of mammals with two or four toes on each of its feet.

“The new model is that initially they were small, deer-like animals that jumped into the water to escape predators,” said Professor G. Thewissen. “And then they settled in the water, and their diet gradually changed: they become carnivorous."