Ebook The Walking Whales: From Land to Water in Eight Million Years

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The Walking Whales: From Land to Water in Eight Million Years

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Review

"There is an immediacy to Thewissen’s writing and an urgency to the excavations, and readers curious about paleontological fieldwork will appreciate the enthusiasm and specificity with which he approaches his subject matter. . . . The whale’s evolution and Thewissen’s contributions to its study are both extraordinary." (Publishers Weekly 2014-10-06) "Does a splendid job of showing what it is like to be a palaeontologist. Thewissen's vivid descriptions of fieldwork in Pakistan and India will give readers a clear sense of the joys and frustrations, and the tedium and excitement, that the work entails. . . . Thewissen's book is a perfect introduction to the field."  (NewScientist 2014-10-14)"The Indiana Jones of biology is an engaging guide in this marine detective story. . . . The Walking Whales is part biological text, part detective story." (Times Higher Education 2015-01-08)"Racily recounted adventures . . . Meticulous comparative work." (Richard Shelton Times Literary Supplement 2015-03-27)"Delightful reading . . . Thewissen's book is a fine account." (Rob Hardy The Dispatch 2015-05-06)"Mixes memoir, adventure, history, and popular science to tell one of the most fascinating stories to emerge from paleontology in the last quarter century. . . . This is an excellent, accessible summary of a fascinating and fruitful career and a treasure trove of information regarding the first 20 million years of cetacean history that will be used for years to come." (Michael R. McGowen Science Direct 2015-04-29)"The book alternates between entertaining exploits in the field that reminded me of a gentler version of Indiana Jones and detailed discussions of whale anatomy and evolutionary descent. . . . The author is a good teacher, thorough and with a fine sense of humor." (Rob Hardy The Columbus Dispatch 2015-05-06)"Thewissen provides an excellent balance between the science and the narrative. . . . an excellent read." (T. A. Franz-Odendaal CHOICE 2015-07-01)

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From the Inside Flap

"Thewissen convincingly conveys the paleobiology of early whales as a dynamic and exciting area of study. In this account of adventures and discoveries, he relives his experiences in the field and his career exploring whale evolution." ―Annalisa Berta, author of Return to the Sea: The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals "The Walking Whales is absolutely cutting-edge. The field of whale paleontology has undergone major changes in understanding over the past fifteen years. A broad readership will enjoy Thewissen’s stories and how they fit into the narrative arc of scientific discovery about early whales." ―Nicholas Pyenson, Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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Product details

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: University of California Press; First edition (April 29, 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0520305604

ISBN-13: 978-0520305601

Product Dimensions:

5.5 x 0.5 x 8.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.6 out of 5 stars

41 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#958,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Before the mid-1990's, the evolutionary origin of whales was pretty much a complete mystery. Some primitive whales like Basilosaurus and Dorudon were known from the Late Eocene, but these are very much closer to modern whales than to any land mammal (although they still retained tiny external hind limbs). It was one place Creationists had it right when they said that there were no plausible fossil intermediates.The conventional wisdom before the 1990s was that whales evolved from land-dwelling wolf-sized artiodactyl predators called mesonychids, which lived from the Paleocene to the Eocene. This link was made on the basis that details in the skulls of mesonychids and of primitive whales look similar, particularly in the sharp triangular teeth. Artiodactyls are hoofed mammals with an even number of toes (giraffes, deer, hippos, pigs, etc.). They have a characteristic "double-pulley" ankle bone, the astralgus. Modern artiodactyls are almost all herbivores, but there are many fossil offshoots like the mesonychids that were obvious carnivores. The evolutionary story was that whales went back to the water in search of a new source of prey. Nowadays, regardless of any putative fossil ancestors, we can confirm through genetic analysis that whales are indeed artiodactyls, and that their closest living relative is the hippo.The story of how many important whale intermediates where identified is covered in a new book "The Walking Whales" by Hans Thewissen. Thewissen himself made the first serendipitous discovery of a fairly complete whale intermediate, Ambulocetus, in Pakistan in 1991 while looking for fossils of land mammals. He also discovered several other key whale intermediates in India and Pakistan subsequent years. These vary in size, shape of the skull, placement of nostrils, and type of teeth. What these animals have in common is that they can clearly get about on land, having four strong limbs, but have an open-capsule inner ear with an involucrum characteristic of whales. Some retain the ear canal (since obviously they needed to receive sounds from the air). Many have denser bones than most artiodactyls, presumably because their lifestyle requires them to be less buoyant in water. The most un-whalelike known intermediate is Indohyus, a swift-running deer-like creature the size of a raccoon that is an obvious herbivore. Indohyus suggests another evolutionary path for returning to water. The analogy is with the modern mouse-deer, which dives underwater and stays there for several minutes to evade predators. This set of intermediates makes it seem unlikely that mesonychids are on the path to whales."The Walking Whales" is a very nice mixture of story-telling and scientific exposition. There are the sections where Thewissen relates how particular key specimens were collected and/or prepared by himself and a small team. Then there the sections that explain the significance of these specimens (plus the whale intermediates discovered by others) and what can be concluded from them. The latter sections are "semi-technical" in the sense that they are illustrated by the type of diagrams one would normally see in a scientific publication. I found these illustrations very helpful in getting the "big picture." There are also restoration pictures of whale intermediates by paleoartist Jacqueline Dillard. Five genera are on the front cover: Basilosaurus, Ambulocetus, Kutchicetus, Pakicetus, and Indohyus.My taste usually runs more toward science rather than stories about fossil-collecting adventures, which I sometimes dismiss as "travelog," but Thewissen is an engaging writer on this topic. The story I found most absorbing is how Indohyus was discovered. Indian paleontologist A. Ranga Rao over a period of decades had collected a large amount of material in the same Eocene fossil beds from which many whale intermediates were recovered. As an outsider to mainstream paleontology, however, he was unable to prepare, study, or publish what he had collected, and the material lay in burlap bags in the cellar of his house and in piles in the backyard. After his death from a brain tumor, his widow, German-born Friedlinde Obergfell, lived in seclusion in India in the house she shared with Rao and refused to let any scientist examine the material, fixated the unrealistic idea that someday her dilapidated house would be an important scientific center for studying Indian fossils. By 2005, Obergfell was quite old, deaf, and distrustful. Thewissen, fearing that the material would ultimately be destroyed by the elements without being studied, persuaded Obergfell that he should take at least a few blocks of the material and look for fossils. Indohyus is one of the discoveries from that incident. Obergfell died in 2007, and unexpectedly appointed Thewissen as the main person to study the fossils left by her husband. A sad story with a happy ending for science.I usually appreciate reading about aspects of paleontology I was not aware of before. There are some very nice discussions here. For example:1.The study of the ratio of oxygen-16 to oxygen-18 isotopes in fossils allows one to determine whether a whale intermediate lived in fresh or salt water. Bottom line: Ambulocetus and Pakicetus were probably river dwellers. Protocetus and Remingtonocetus were ocean dwellers.2.Development of limbs and the shape of the teeth is controlled by specific proteins. One can stain thin slices of dolphin embryos to see which proteins are active at any given time. This can give a clue as to which specific genes were inactivated in whale evolution. Every once in a while a dolphin is born with rear flippers (a specific individual named Haruku lives in a marine park in Japan ), and it might be possible to find a genetic difference in those individuals vs. other dolphins.Overall, I would recommend this book to serious paleo amateurs or professionals. The only negative you could say is that this book emphasizes discoveries made by the author, so if you want a more global treatment of fossil whales, you might have to look elsewhere. However, "Walking Whales" is a good place to start.

Others have written excellent reviews of this work, so I will keep my comments short. I'm a professional paleontologist and have actually seen, in Phil Gingrich's laboratory, some of the early whales described in this lovely book. Thewissen does everything very well here. He describes the process of discovery, giving you the sense of field work in Pakistan and how insight is gained from scraps of bone and teeth. I particularly enjoyed his descriptions of working with Pakistani and Indian colleagues--it is easy to imagine the quizzical looks of villagers as the field team rolls through a small town, or the paranoia of an old lady clutching a hoped-for future discovery while the untended fossils crumble around her. He describes the animals that form the connections between fully terrestrial and fully aquatic ecosystems. There is undoubtedly much we still don't know about the ancestors of whales. But we have enough of the sketch that it is hard for Creationists to claim, as they used to do only a decade ago, that whales were one of the best examples of distinct `kinds' of life without evolutionary intermediates. Thewissen also delves into the other types of knowledge we have about whale origins, such as embryology, light stable isotopes and comparative studies with living mammals. All this emerges in a small volume that is so delightful and well written, that I could hardly put it down. This is a vastly better book than any other I have read about whale origins.

This is probably one of the best book on paleontology and evolution that I've had the pleasure of reading. Johannes G. M. "Hans" Thewissen's "The Walking Whales" sheds light on the evolution of earth's most mysterious mammal: the whale. Prior to the early '90s any speculation on whale evolution was just that: speculation. What fossils we had were of fully aquatic mammals little different from modern day whales. Then, in 1993 all that changed when the author made the find of a lifetime while on an expedition to central Pakistan. What he dug out of the ground was a puzzling fossil consisting of hind legs, a few body parts and, amazingly, a skull. Returning to the U. S. with only the skull Thewissen began preparations of his find that would lead him to naming his find Ambulocetus: the whale that walks. The origins of whales has always been at the heart of a controversial debate between Creationist and Scientist. While scientists thought whales, and all aquatic mammals, evolved from land living quadrupeds that somehow managed to make the transition to an aquatic lifestyle. But they had no evidence to support that idea. Creationists were quick to claim that if science had no evidence it was because whales were, and had always been, fully aquatic. And the debate goes on! Parts of Thewissen's narrative read like a daily log or journal to give the reader an idea of the trials and tribulations that fossil hunters face when working in far flung locations. Without the help and support of his local colleagues in each country, the author would not have able to make much progress in locating fossils. Pakistan was and is a volatile country, political tensions with India are running high and roving bands of bandits in the hills of both countries makes fossils collecting a risky pastime. But the main focus of this book is, of course, the evolution of whales. One prehistoric whale in particular, Basilosaurus, has an interesting back story. It's name means "King Lizard", which might seem odd until you read it's history. Beyond Basilosaurus the author covers a host of extinct whale species, explaining what is known about their life histories, anatomy and habitat. The earliest proto-whale fossils are found in Pakistan and India, so that part of the world may be where they originated but that conclusion may need to be altered as new fossils are found elsewhere in the world. This is a book that can be enjoyed by both the professional and layman reader, Thewissen writes in thorough, informative way with just a touch of humor now and then. The segments on anatomy and the senses are complex and quite technical but the experienced science reader or anyone who got through at least High School Biology shouldn't have much of a problem. "The Walking Whales" answered many of my questions about whales and their ancient ancestors but, like any science book, left me hungry for more information. Research continues and professionals like Thewissen are sure to find new fossil that may open a door for future Paleontologist to explore the origins of our most mysterious mammal: the whale. One things for sure, I'll never look at a breaching Humpback Whale again in quite the same way. There are numerous charts, graphs and skeletal reconstructions throughout the book as well as several full color paintings of prehistoric whales. The art work is credited to Jacqueline Dillard but some of the illustrations may be by Carl Buell, or at least based on his art work. While I had no downloading problems with this Kindle edition there is a technical issues that the buyer should be aware of. Usually when an e-book has illustrations it provides Links (eg: Figure XX) you click in that link and it takes you directly to that particular illustration. In this case the Links are there but they don't function, so there is no way to get to the Figure you're looking for. This can be kind of a hassle when the text refers you to several different illustrations in random order. This is not so much a Kindle error but rather the publishers (University of California Press) omission. Anyway, in spite of this issue, "The Walking Whales" is an exceptional read and I am more than pleased with my purchase.Last Ranger

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