Ancient Egyptian killer whale with legs identified as new species

• Author: JERUSALEM POST STAFF
• Published date: 02 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The discovery of this new species is "critical" to understanding the evolutionary process of ancient whales into the marine mammals we know today, scientists say.

The fossilized remains, which include the skull and ribs, were discovered during a 2008 international expedition to an animal graveyard in the Nile Valley called the Fayum Depression.

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The newly-discovered species of killer whale, dubbed Phiomicetus anubis, likely reached over three meters in length and weighed over 900 kg. It most likely roamed the Earth's oceans during the Eocene Period, around 56 to 34 million years ago.

The whale's skeleton revealed that it possessed a long snout and sharp teeth attached to massive jaws. Experts say it likely looked like something...