Although Ambulocetus looked like a furry crocodile or a giant otter, it was actually an early whale. Its back legs in particular seemed to be used for propulsion, and its feet had long, probably webbed toes (each ending in a tiny hooflet). Ambulocetus was not as agile in the water as an otter and seems to be adapted for ambushing large prey which it then drowned. Its skull shows adaptations for holding large, struggling prey underwater. Its ear bones also show that it did not have external ears but instead used the same method of hearing as modern whales - picking up vibrations through the jawbone. One fairly complete specimen and several partial skeletons have been found in Pakistan.
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Horse-eating birds
The predators of the Eocene forests are on the prowl for unwary prey.
The predators of the Eocene forests are on the prowl for unwary prey.
Ambulocetus ambush
Hunting practice for an aquatic mammalian predator, ancestor of the modern whale.
Hunting practice for an aquatic mammalian predator, ancestor of the modern whale.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Discover the other animals and plants that lived during the following geological time periods.
Eocene epochAmbulocetus natans was an early cetacean that could walk as well as swim. It is the only species classified under the genus Ambulocetus. Along with other members of Ambulocetidae, it is a transitional fossil that shows how whales evolved from land-living mammals.
Ambulocetus natans lived in the Early Eocene (50 to 48 million years ago) of Pakistan. When the animal was alive, Pakistan was a coastal region of India, which was then a large island in the Indian Ocean.
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