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Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · Aug 25

Read our paper here: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

A new protocetid whale offers clues to biogeography and feeding ecology in early cetacean evolution | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Over about 10 million years, the ancestors of whales transformed from herbivorous, deer-like, terrestrial mammals into carnivorous and fully aquatic cetaceans. Protocetids are Eocene whales that repre...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · Aug 25

Phiomicetus anubis turns 4 today! So proud of the little guy 🥹P. anubis is a 42-43 million year old "walking whale" from the Fayum desert of Egypt. #whaleontology 🧪🦖

Life restoration of Phiomicetus anubis, a walking whale, going after a sawfish.

The original skull, mandible, and skeleton of Phiomicetus anubis, a walking whale from the Eocene of Egypt.

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Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · Jul 2

#whalewednesday Endocranial anatomy of the OG protocetid whale, Protocetus atavus - protocetids had surprisingly large brains, indicating brain expansion occurred early in cetacean evolution; also retained well-developed olfactory bulbs (and smell). 🐬🧪🦖Read here: academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

Scientific figure showing the skull of the protocetid whale Protocetus atavus and the newly published endocranial cast; the endocast is shaped like a flattened Hershey's kiss, with a long olfactory tract and well-developed olfactory bulbs.

Life restoration of Protocetus atavus with the skull and endocast shown. Illustration by Tyler Stone.

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Abdullah Gohar @gohar.bsky.social · Jul 2

Here is an amazing paloart by Tyler Stone

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Eli Amson @eliamson.bsky.social · Jul 2

It was for me a first opportunity to work with @muvp-eg.bsky.social , i.e., @hesham-sallam.bsky.social and @gohar.bsky.social , which was a blast! Thank you as well to @gsferreira.bsky.social and all other co-authors not on Bluesky.

Gabriel S. Ferreira (he/his) (@gsferreira.bsky.social)

🇧🇷 in 🇩🇪, 🐢 virtual paleo, functional morph -researcher at Senckenberg HEP | sci. coordinator of 3D Imaging Lab of the Uni. Tübingen gabrielsferreira.com

gsferreira.bsky.social

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Eli Amson @eliamson.bsky.social · Jul 2

…and the accompanying models on MorphoMuseuM here:
morphomuseum.com/articles/vie...

MorphoMuseuM - Articles

morphomuseum.com

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Eli Amson @eliamson.bsky.social · Jul 2

You can find the paper here: academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

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Eli Amson @eliamson.bsky.social · Jul 2

Regarding the sense of smell, we basically found that no part of the olfactory apparatus was significantly reduced, indicating that these amphibious cetaceans most likely had a good nose (likely much better than ours), and that the reduction of this sense most likely came later in their evolution.

patrick star from spongebob squarepants smells real good up hea

ALT: patrick star from spongebob squarepants smells real good up hea

media.tenor.com

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Eli Amson @eliamson.bsky.social · Jul 2

Comparing the relative volume of the brain endocast, we found that this early whale was quite brainy, which is a surprise, as the first cetaceans with big brains were so far understood to be the fully aquatic basilosaurids.

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Eli Amson @eliamson.bsky.social · Jul 2

We addressed two aspects of cetacean evolution: their acquisition of a relatively big brain and the evolution of their sense of smell. As other mammals secondarily adapted to the aquatic environment, cetaceans have been assumed to reduce their sense of smell (which is air-born in this group).

a cartoon of homer simpson sniffing something with his mouth open

ALT: a cartoon of homer simpson sniffing something with his mouth open

media.tenor.com

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Eli Amson @eliamson.bsky.social · Jul 2

We ct-scanned the skull of Protocetus atavus, an amphibious cetacean coming from the Mokattam Formation in Egypt. The inner anatomy of the skull was reconstructed, and we were able to reconstruct the brain imprint (endocast) as well as the different components of the nasal cavity.

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Eli Amson @eliamson.bsky.social · Jul 2

Fossil brain 🧠🧟 of a 45-million-year-old cetacean! We are proud to publish‪ @journal-evo.bsky.social l the result of Elena Berger’s Bachelor’s thesis @smnstuttgart.bsky.social. Thread 👇
‬

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Hesham Sallam @hesham-sallam.bsky.social · Feb 17

Named after the cat-headed goddess Bastet, Bastetodon is symbolically linked to Sekhmetops, inspired by the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet. Mythology meets science in this incredible find! #SallamLab #MUVP

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Hesham Sallam @hesham-sallam.bsky.social · Feb 17

Our new discovery, led by @shorouqalashqar.bsky.social , has unveiled a new 30-million-year-old species of apex predator, #Bastetodon, in Egypt’s Fayum Desert! Check out the study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. @matt-borths.bsky.social @erikseiffert.bsky.social #SallamLab #MUVP

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Lene Liebe Delsett @leneliebedelsett.bsky.social · Feb 5

Thank you @gohar.bsky.social for a very nice invited talk on whale evolution for our group in Oslo yesterday!🐳🐋🐬

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Abdullah Gohar @gohar.bsky.social · Dec 28

As usual, one of the best reconstructions of a protocetid early whale!

Tyler Stone @tylerstoneart.bsky.social · Dec 27

#FossilFriday 4 years after doing the rough sketch for it, I finally finished my illustration of Protocetus. My reconstruction looks very different from most, and the reason is simple: almost every illustration of this animal is wrong. #paleoart #paleontology #whale

🧵(1)

Protocetus, a primitive whale with legs and a flattened tail like a beaver, swimming in the open ocean.

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Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · Dec 4

Oh groovy, our paper on the hindlimb biomechanics of the Triassic dinosauriform Lagosuchus is out! A quick thread for now. We uCT-scanned most of the existing skeletal material for this important outgroup to Dinosauria. We sorted through the elements and chose the best ones to make a 3D model from.

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Paleo Nerds Podcast @paleonerdspod.bsky.social · Nov 28

Dave traveled ✈️ to Egypt to interview Dr. Hesham Sallam, Egypt's first paleontologist and founder of the country's first Vertebrate Paleontology Center.

NEW! Episode #80: Walking 🦶 Egyptian Whales 🐋 from the Sahara with Dr. Hesham Sallam.

🔊 www.paleonerds.com/podcast/heshamsallam

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Abdullah Gohar @gohar.bsky.social · Nov 22

You did a great job!

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Tyler Stone @tylerstoneart.bsky.social · Nov 22

#FossilFriday with its bizarre skull, the protocetid whale Makaracetus has become my beloved nemesis. It’s extremely hard to reconstruct, but @gohar.bsky.social recently told me that my illustration of it is the most accurate he’s seen, so I must be on the right track. #paleoart #sciart #whale

My initial sketches, transferring the anatomy of different modern animals onto the skull to see what felt plausible.

The reconstruction I settled on, taking cues from moose and camels along with my own previous drawings of other protocetids.

Some sketches exploring the reconstruction I’ve settled on. You know you love an animal when you’re willing to absolutely roast it.

Full painting of Makaracetus based on my earlier research and design work. This actually started as a screenshot of a swimming moose from Planet Zoo, which I warped and painted over in Procreate.

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Jenny Rae Rappaport @jennyrae.bsky.social · Jul 10

I was searching for information about odontolite, which I did not find, but this fascinating article about early whales popped up instead. And now I need you all to learn about Tutcetus rayanensis and the Valley of the Whales. 🐳 (gift link)

www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/s...

An Ancient Whale Named for King Tut, but Moby-Dinky in Size

Paleontologists in Egypt announced the discovery of Tutcetus rayanensis, an eight-foot-long leviathan that lived 41 million years ago.

www.nytimes.com

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Michael Tripoli @triloboii.bsky.social · Jan 22

Described only a week after the most massive basilosaurid, Tutcetus is not only one of the very smallest, with an estimated body length of only about 2.5m, but one of the earliest, coexisting with protocetes in the shallow coasts of Egypt during the early middle Eocene.

Holotype skull of Tutcetus rayanensis, taken from Antar et al 2023

Phylogenetic tree of cetaceans, including Tutcetus, taken from Antar et al 2023

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Michael Tripoli @triloboii.bsky.social · Jan 22

Cenozoic Paleo 2023 day 21: Meet Tutcetus rayanensis!

#paleoart #paleontology #sciart

Vector illustration of Tutcetus rayanensis, a small basilosaurid from Eocene Egypt. Text reads: Tutcetus rayanensis. Mohammed Antar, Abdullah Gohar, Heba El-Desouky et al. Diminutive new basilosaurid whale reveals the trajectory of the cetacean life histories during the Eocene. Commun. Biol. 6(1):707 Aug 10 2023

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Robert Boessenecker, Dr. of Whaleontology ™️ @coastalpaleo.bsky.social · Dec 31

2023 in review: this year's advances in marine mammal paleontology! Here is my 11th annual [comprehensive] roundup of every peer-reviewed article that came out in our field this year. Check it out here: coastalpaleo.blogspot.com/2023/12/2023...

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Tyler Stone @tylerstoneart.bsky.social · Jan 1

More work from 2023: Tutcetus on its own, a T. rex sketch, and two versions of the Van Meter Visitor.

Van Meter Visitor as a monstrous “pterodactyl.”

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