The remains found in Egypt of the one classified as Phiomicetus anubis , in honor of the Egyptian jackal-headed god, Anubis, indicate that the prehistoric animal had four legs that allowed it to walk on land , in addition to swimming. His skull resembles that of the ancient god of death.
Phiomicetus anubis is believed to be an ancestor of whales, and according to the BBC , the modern whales we know today evolved from deer-like land mammals over the course of 10 million years.
The team of Egyptian paleontologists who have discovered the fossil of the curious whale suggests that the animal could have inhabited the Earth about 43 million years ago . It would measure at least three meters long and weigh more than 590 kilos . In addition, and according to the remains that have been found, it would have a very powerful jaw, which would have allowed it to feed on crocodiles, small mammals and the offspring of other animals. It would be, in the words of Abdullah Gohar, lead author of the study that has been published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B , “an active and successful predator.” Gohar has likened him to a god of death for almost all the animals that lived near him. Again, another nod to Anubis.
” Phiomicetus anubis is a new key whale species and a critical discovery for Egyptian and African paleontology,” Abdullah Gohar told the BBC . Although it is not the first whale with legs to be found (fossils of another quadruped whale were located a few years ago in Peru), this cetacean is believed to be the first type of semi-aquatic whale discovered in Africa.
The remains of the Phiomicetus anubis whale have been located in the Fayum Depression, west of the Nile River, a desert area that once housed a sea and in which a large number of fossils can currently be found.
