Fossil Evidence of Evolution: Whale Edition

Those darn fossils keeping popping up, filling in the gaps of what we know about how animals evolved. This deal about the whale fetus is pretty interesting. It was positioned head down, indicating it was born on land and needed to come out breathing. The flipper-like legs were not conducive to spending much time on land, so it's probable these whales mated and gave birth on land, but lived mostly in the ocean.

"They clearly were tied to shore," Gingerich said. "They were living at the land-sea interface and going back and forth."

He said the Maiacetus fossils appear to represent an intermediate whale form, showing the evolution from land-dwelling to aquatic creatures.

Now, Texas SBOE, do the right thing and make it clear that evolution is the backbone of biology - day in and day out. Fossil evidence, molecular evidence - almost beside the point. The theory of evolution is used to validate and predict scientific phenomena, so we are beyond the point of trying to "prove" evolution all the time.

More photos here.