It is hard to imagine that the largest mammal in the world, the whale that swims through the deep blue seas was once the size of a large dog and walked on all four legs on land. Many evolutionists still have difficulty accepting that idea and simply call it a myth.
However, there is significant proof that the group of hoofed animals called Mesonychids was in fact the start of the evolution line that has evolved over the past 55 million years in to what we know today as the whale.
According to research by the famous paleontologist Stephen Gould, whales evolved in eleven stages beginning with the mesonychids over 53 million years ago.
The second phase was Pakicetus in which small changes took place in the skeletal system of the mammal, its legs began shorter and it developed an inner ear similar to that of the whale.
The third phase was the Ambulocetus in this phase the mammal took the shape of a crocodile with much shorter legs and the ability to hold it’s breath for short periods of time under water.
The fourth phase Dalanistes the mammal began to lose its long tail and the snout became smaller and the eyes were located more towards the top of the head.
The fifth phase of evolution was the Rodhocetus in this phase the mammal was able to swim and the blowhole was visible, the hind legs had shrunk to about 4 inches in length and the front legs were gone. This is the first mammal to be classified as a whale.
In the next four phases; Takracetus, Gavioncetus, Dorudon and Basilosaurus
The mammal continued to evolve slowly the hind legs were no longer visible, the inner ear developed completely becoming a great asset to the mammal, its senses improved, its snout disappeared and the head became part of the body and it continued to grow to an enormous size.
In the last two phases: Mysticetes and Odontocetes different species were noticed beginning with the humpback whale (which has no teeth) and the Blue whale the largest of the whale species.
Scientists have been able to link the mesonychids to the whale through DNA and skeletal formations.
Fossils have been discovered that date back 50 million years it’s believed that the very first whale was called “Himalaycetus Subathunesis” because it was discovered in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains.
While many evolutionists still have doubts about the evolution of the whale, they can’t explain why the whale has the skeletal bones of hoofs in their flippers or why they have small hind limbs hiding under the flesh of their large bodies.
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