--- Evolution

When the dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago, the
mammals got a chance to ourish and take the dinosaurs' place. The
mammals roamed the land and diversied greatly. Among the newly
emerging groups were primitive hoofed animals (ungulates). These
animals were called Condylarthra. They are considered to be the common
ancestors of the modern day whales (Cetacea) and Artiodactyla, which
include pigs, hippopotami, cows etc. From the Condylarthra, the
Mesonychidae developed.

These mesonychids were large-bodied animals. Some were carnivorous,

some herbivorous and others omnivorous. They lived in or near river
estuaries and lagoons. In the Paleocene period, about 50 million years
ago, these creatures adapted for the capture of fast-swimming sh, a
food resource that was more or less untapped after the disappearance of
marine dinosaurs like the plesiosaurs and ichtyosaurs.

They took to the seas and became the oldest known, now extinct, group
of whales, the Archaeoceti. The archaeocetes still had teeth like land
mammals, with canines, incisors and molars. They had dense ear bones,
space for fat deposits around the bones and air sacs to isolate the ear
from the bone. These are typical whale characteristics. Their nostrils were
located on top of their snout. Their body was elongated with a long tail
and a short neck. The hind limbs were reduced in size and the front limbs
were paddle-shaped. Their tail could move up and down.

The oldest members of the archaeocetes, Pakicetus species, have been

found in Pakistan. Some slightly more recent archaeocete remains have
been found in Europe, the US and Australia. One of the best known
fossils was originally mistaken for a reptile and was named Basilosaurus.
It is now recognized as being a member of the Archaeoceti.

In the Oligocene period, 38-25 million years ago, the archaeocetes were
replaced by primitive groups of Odontoceti (toothed whales) and Mysticeti
(baleen whales). The largest toothed whales, the sperm whales, probably
separated from the baleen whales later than the other toothed whale
groups. DNA and anatomical studies have shown, that the sperm whales
are closer related to the modern baleen whales than to any of the modern
toothed whale species. Nowadays, there are about 80 whale species.

The ancestors of modern whales originally lived close to the water's edge.
Over time they ventured into the water more and more and discovered a
rich source of food, for which there was virtually no
competition. Over time, they adapted to an increasingly aquatic life style:
their bodies became more streamlined and better insulated and they
adapted to the kind of food they were eating. Some specialized
on feeding on large shes. For this they needed sharp teeth so their teeth
became pointed. These developed into the toothed whales.

Other specialized towards a more grazing life style, living o# the abundant
small creatures of the sea. To e#ectively collect these small animals, they
had no use for teeth but needed a sieve-like
apparatus instead. They lost their teeth and developed baleen: horny
structures with ne hairs that could lter small creatures out of the water.
These developed into the modern baleen whales. For a while there was
another group of whales, which also had teeth. This group, the
Archeoceti, became extinct some 25 million years ago.

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---Adaptations

The similarities between the skeletons of land mammals and whales are
quite clear. The hind limbs have all but disappeared. There is only a small
remnant of the pelvis, which is not attached to the spine or any other
bone. In males, this small pelvic bone serves as an anchor for the
muscles of the penis. Occasionally a whale is found in which the hind
limbs are somewhat more developed are even visible externally.This is
very rare, though.

The front limbs in all whales, the pectoral ns or ippers, basically contain
all the bones that can be found in the front limbs of land mammals. Some
bones are shortened, others are slightly modied, but the bones of 5
digits are still clearly recognisable. Externally, no digits are visible. The
ippers are smooth, attened paddle-shaped ns. The bones in the
peduncle (the tail stem) are extensions of the tail vertebrae in land
mammals.

Land mammals have some form of hairy fur, which serves among others
as insulation. Whales don't have fur. In water, fur needs a lot of
maintenance in order to maintain its insulating properties. Furry marine
mammals like sea otters spend a considerable amount of time preening.
Also, the fur would cause a drag when swimming. Losing the fur gave
whales a perfectly streamlined body. For insulation, they have a thick
layer of blubber (fat) under their skin, which helps to maintain the body's
streamline, serves as energy storage and protects the whales from heat
loss. In whales, the remnants of the fur can still be seen. Young dolphins
have small whiskers and in older animals, the hair follicles can still be
seen on the snout. Some dolphin species (e.g. river dolphins) have
whiskers throughout their life.

The streamline of whales is also enhanced by the disappearance of the

auricles, the external ears. All that is left is a tiny hole behind the eye.
Because the density of the auricles would be close to that of the
surrounding water, they would not have much use collecting sounds.
Most of the sounds would pass right through.

Because whales breath air, but spend a lot of their time under water, they
have developed an e$cient system to get enough oxygen. When they
breath, they exchange almost the entire air volume in the lungs. When
breathing normally, humans exchange little more than 12% of the lung
volume. Also, whales have the capacity to store much more oxygen in the
muscles than land mammals. The nostrils have in whales moved to the
top the their head, which makes breathing while swimming a lot easier.
This breathing opening is called the blowhole. Baleen whales have a
double blowhole, toothed whales have a single blowhole.

Most whales are excellent divers. When they breath, most of the oxygen
is transported from the lungs to the blood and to the muscles. The
muscles are rich in a special oxygen-binding protein, called myoglobin. It
is related to haemoglobin, the protein that binds oxygen in the red blood
cells. When they dive, the blood ow, and hence the oxygen ow, is
limited to some vital organs, like the heart and the brain. Also, the heart
start beating at a considerably lower rate. This is called bradycardia.

In most mammals (also in humans) the heart slows somewhat when the
head is submerged, but in whales and also in seals and sea lions, this
slowing is very pronounced. A whale's body has to be able to withstand
enormous pressures when diving. For every 10 m they go down, the
pressure increases by 1 bar. Whales can dive and surface rapidly without
any risk of the bends or nitrogen narcosis, which are potential problems
for human divers. The main reason is that whales and dolphins do not
breathe at all when under water, so the amount of nitrogen in the body is
minimal. Human divers use compressed air and constantly absorb extra
nitrogen when submerged.

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