40 Million Year Old Whale Discovered in Egypt's Western Desert

[Dover]

Whale found in desert

Reuters

Tuesday, 19 April 2005
The skeleton of the 18 metre whale was found in the remote Wadi Hitan valley, where hundreds of fossils are being exposed by the wind (Image: Philip Gingerich)

An American palaeontologist says he and a team of Egyptians have found what could be the most complete fossilised skeleton of the 40 million year old whale Basilosaurus isis in Egypt's Western Desert.

Professor Philip Gingerich of the University of Michigan excavated the well-preserved skeleton in a desert valley known as Wadi Hitan, or the Valley of the Whales, southwest of Cairo.

The first Basilosaurus was discovered in 1905 but no full skeleton has been found until now, the university says.

"His feeling is that it's the most complete, the whole skeleton from stem to stern," a university spokesperson says.

An enigma of evolution

The skeleton, which is 18 metres long, could throw light on why there are so many fossilised remains of whales and other ancient sea animals in Wadi Hitan and possibly how the extinct animal swam, Gingerich says. ..cont'd

http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1348668.htm

[RobertSeattle]

1. You can almost here it coming...

"Left by Noah's Flood"...

:evilgrin:

[ThumperDumper]

2. You're too fast!

Was there a row boat in it's belly? :)

[evlbstrd]

3. And the Earth is how old?

Look for a lot of Reverse Engineers on the crappy teevee news to try to tear this down.
I love science. I can't do it, but I get it.