Why Are Cetaceans Tails Different From Fish?

Unlike fish, like whales and dolphins marine mammals They evolved from other animals to become sea creatures.

marine mammals evolved from which animals? Let’s examine together how it got its current appearance and how it differs from fish.

They evolved from four-legged animals!

tail fins to push water used. Fish muscles move the spine from side to side. A vertical fin is therefore required to propel the body forward in a slippery motion.

However, in the evolution of marine mammals hind limbs They still have vestigial pelvic bones despite their disappearance. Unlike fish, whales and dolphins evolved from four-legged land creatures with limbs under their bodies and survived until today.

First ancestors of whales and dolphins: Pakicetus

marine mammals to its present form We have many fossils belonging to the 50 million-year evolutionary process until the When we go to the oldest of these fossils, the creature we encounter is Pakicetus.

Pakicetus, whales and dolphins first mammalian ancestor is estimated to be. Pakicetus, known to live within the borders of present-day Pakistan, is a fish-eating carnivorous animal.

Tails of marine mammals also have functions.

Of course, since cetaceans continued to use their tails during their evolution, these tails did not atrophy. For example, whales as a form of communication they hit the water surface or stun their underwater prey in this way.