Posted on 01/26/2005 6:59:18 AM PST by presidio9
A water-loving mammal that lived 50 to 60 million years ago was probably the "missing link" between whales and hippos, according to a new analysis. Biologists have argued over the relationship between hippos and whales for a period of almost 200 years.
The findings come from an analysis of features in different animal groups carried out by a US-French team.
Their report is published in the science journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Jean-Renaud Boisserie, Michel Brunet and Fabrice Lehoreau found that the semi-aquatic ancestor of whales and hippos split into two groups: cetaceans and the anthracotheres.
Cetaceans eventually spurned land, lost their legs and became fully aquatic.
Flourishing group
The pig-like anthracotheres, flourished over 40 million years and died out less than 2.5 million years ago. They left only one descendent, the hippopotamus.
The study places whales firmly within the cloven-hoofed group of mammals known as Artiodactyla, which includes cows, pigs, sheep, antelopes, camels and giraffes.
The similarities may not be immediately obvious
Scientists had assumed hippos were cousins of pigs because they shared distinctive ridges on their molars.
But then genetic analyses indicated that hippos had more in common with cetaceans, the group to which whales and dolphins belong.
"If you look at the general shape of the [hippo] it could be related to horses, as the ancient Greeks thought, or pigs, as modern scientists thought, while molecular phylogeny shows a close relationship with whales," Dr Boisserie explained.
"But cetaceans - whales, porpoises and dolphins - don't look anything like hippos. There is a 40 million-year gap between fossils of early cetaceans and early hippos."
"Cetaceans are artiodactyls, but very derived artiodactyls."
Michael Moore, Rosie O'Donnel. I see the resemblance.
Teddie, The Blimp, Kennedy and Mickie, Pig Man, Moore.
"Whale and hippo 'close cousins'"... Just like homosexuals and animals. Oops, it's no name calling week isn't it. Can I repost next week?
Scientists have now decided that hippos are cousins of animals that don't have any molars at all.
Something tells me this is not an exact science, that these people are guessing, and that everything they believe today will be overturned tomorrow.
ping
ping
Is proven at every family get-to-gether.........
aw geez! I just ate! thanx a heap! (and i DO mean heap:-))
Oh, you mean just like the US Democratic party and the Socialist Democrats of Europe? (the ones that want to give away everything that they don't own)
ain't cruel and unusual punishment unconstitutional?
next you'll be posting the diving fat lady farting pic.
Talk about leaving the gate open at the Hippo farm: when some of these 'ladies' step on, the whole bus tilts.
"now i don't m ind large ladies, they're shade in the summer and warmth in the winter..."
"now i don't m ind large ladies, they're shade in the summer and warmth in the winter..."
That looks more like elephantiasis.
When the facts fail, turn to poetry.
The fascinating thing about it is that Kennedy is an aquatic mammal! The land-dweller version continues to root and snout on land, so more study is needed.
But..We will cross that BRIDGE when we get to it...har har har.
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