http://www.icr.org/article/when-whale-whale/.
6. Different scientists use the word whale differently. In this book, for fossil
species, whale and cetacean are used interchangeably. As such, whales includes fossil dolphins and porpoises.
7. J. G. M. Thewissen and S. T. Hussain, 1993, “Origin of Underwater Hear-
ing in Whales,” Nature 361 (1993): 444–45.
chapter 2. fish, mammal, or dinosaur?
1. Aristotle, Historia Animalium, Book III, http://web.archive.org/
web/20110215182616/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=
213
214 | Notes
AriHian.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag
=public&part=3&division=div2.
2. There are some cetaceans that pertain to the Odontoceti that have barely
any teeth. A male narwhal has only one, a tusk longer than the animal, whereas
a female narwhal has no teeth that break through the gums at all, and the same
is true for many female beaked whales. Alternatively, some whales with teeth
are not toothed whales, such as the whales that lived between 50 and 37 million
years ago. The use of the phrase “toothed whales” here means odontocete.
3. D. W. Rice, Marine Mammals of the World, Systematics and Distribution,
Special Publication Number 4 (1998), Society for Marine Mammalogy.
4. The first part of the Latin here means “a penis that enters the female, and
breast that gives milk.” Indeed, feeding its young with mother’s milk is the criti-
cal feature for a mammal, but a male copulatory organ is not; a penis is also
present in crocodiles and turtles, for instance. The last part of the quote was
translated for me by Dr. Graham Burnett as “from (the authority of) the law of
nature, by right and by merit,” and surely exemplifies another of Melville’s mis-
chievous moments in writing this book.
5. H. Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (New York: Random House,
1992), 193–94.
6. C. Darwin, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the
Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (Harmondsworth: Pen-
guin, 1968), 215.
7. Quoted in S. J. Gould, “Hooking Leviathan by Its Past,” Natural History,
May 1994: 8–15.
8. R. Harlan, “Notice of the Fossil Bones Found in the Tertiary Formation of
the State of Louisiana,” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,
N. S. 4 (1834): 397–403, pl. 20.
9. R. Owen, “Observations on the Basilosaurus of Dr. Harlan ( Zeuglodon
cetoides, Owen),” Transactions of the Geological Society of London, Ser. 2, No.
6 (1839): 69–79, pl. 7–9. R. Owen, “Observations on the Teeth of the Zeuglo-
don, Basilosaurus of Dr. Harlan,” Proceedings of the Geological Society of
London 3 (1839): 24–28.
10. International Code for Zoological Nomenclature—see http://www.nhm.
ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code/.
11. J. G. Wood, “The Trail of the Sea-Serpent,” Atlantic Monthly 53 (June
1884): 799–814.
12. D. E. Jones, “Doctor Koch and his ‘Immense Antediluvian Monsters,’”
Alabama Heritage 12 (Spring 1989): 2–19, http://www.alabamaheritage.com/
vault/monsters.htm.
13. Quoted in J. D. Dana, “On Dr. Koch’s Evidence with Regard to the Con-
temporaneity of Man and the Mastodon in Missouri, American Journal of
Science and Arts 9 (35, 1875): 335–46.
14. J. Müller, U˝ ber die fossilen Reste der Zeuglodonten von Nordamerica, mit
Rücksicht auf die europäischen Reste dieser Familie (Berlin: G. Reimer, 1849).
15. Dallas Gazette of Cahawba, Alabama, March 30, 1855, quoted in note 12.
16. P. D. Gingerich, B. H. Smith, and E. L. Simons, “Hind Limbs of Eocene
Basilosaurus: Evidence of Feet in Whales,” Science 229 (1990): 154–57.
Notes | 215
17. J. Gatesy and M.A. O’Leary, “Deciphering Whale Origins with Molecules
and Fossils,” Trends in Ecology & Evolution 16 (2001): 562–70.
18. Groups of related species are included in one genus, and groups of related
genera are included in one family. The most common levels of hierarchy in zoo-
logical nomenclature are: species, genus, family, superfamily, suborder, order,
class, and phylum. Cetacea (cetaceans in English) is the name of an order in the
class Mammalia (mammals in English). See also page 14.
19. Basilosaurines include Basilosaurus, Chrysocetus, Cynthiacetus, and
Basilotritus and are found in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Among the
dorudontines, Dorudon, Saghacetus, Masracetus, and Stromerius are known
from Egypt only; Zygorhiza lived in North America, Antarctica, and New
Zealand; and Ocucajea and Supayacetus are known from Peru only.
20. M. D. Uhen, “Form, Function, and Anatomy of Dorudon atrox (Mam-
malia, Cetacea): An Archaeocete from the Middle to Late Eocene of Egypt,”
University of Michigan Papers on Paleontology 34 (2004): 1–222. This work
comprehensively treats one of the best-known basilosaurids, and covers many
of the topics discussed here. Citations of this and other papers of ubiquitous
importance that were already cited are not repeated.
21. The third molar in the upper and lower jaw is the wisdom tooth. That
tooth is present in some people, but never erupts in others.
22. R. Kellogg, A Review of the Archaeoceti (Washington, DC: Carnegie
Institute of Washington, 1936).
23. C. C. Swift and L. G. Barnes, “Stomach Contents of Basilosaurus Cet-
oides: Implications for the Evolution of Cetacean Feeding Behavior, and Evi-
dence for Vertebrate Fauna and Epicontinental Eocene Seas,” Abstracts of
Papers, Sixth North American Paleontological Convention (Washington, DC,
1996).
24. J. M. Fahlke, K. A. Bastl, G. Semprebon, and P. D. Gingerich, “Paleoecol-
ogy of Archaeocete Whales throughout the Eocene: Dietary Adaptations
Revealed by Microwear Analysis,” Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palae-
oecology 386 (2013): 690–701. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.06.032.
25. J. M. Fahlke, “Bite Marks Revisited: Evidence for Middle-to-Late Eocene
&nbs
p; Basilosaurus isis Predation on Dorudon atrox (Both Cetacea, Basilosauridae),”
Palaeontologia Electronica 15 (2012): 32A.
26. R. A. Dart, “The Brain of the Zeuglodontidae (Cetacea),” Proceedings of
the Zoological Society, London 42 (1923): 615–54.
27. L. Marino, “Brain Size Evolution,” in Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals
(2nd ed.), ed. W. F. Perrin, B. Würsig, and J. G. M. Thewissen (San Diego, CA:
Academic Press, 2009), 149–52.
28. T. Edinger, “Evolution of the Horse Brain,” Geological Society of Amer-
ica, Memoir 25 (1948).
29. L. Marino, M. D. Uhen, B. Frohlich, J. M. Aldag, C. Blane, D. Bohaska,
and F. C. Whitmore, Jr., “Endocranial Volume of Mid-Late Eocene Archaeocetes
(Order: Cetacea) Revealed by Computed Tomography: Implications for Ceta-
cean Brain Evolution,” Journal of Mammalian Evolution 7 (2000): 81–94. L.
Marino, “What Can Dolphins Tell Us about Primate Evolution?” Evolutionary
Anthropology 5 (1997, no. 3): 81–85.
216 | Notes
30. J. G. M. Thewissen, J. George, C. Rosa, and T. Kishida, “Olfaction and
Brain Size in the Bowhead Whale,” Marine Mammal Science 27 (2011): 282–94.
31. H. J. Jerison, Evolution of the Brain and Intelligence (New York: Aca-
demic Press, 1973). L. Marino, D. W. McShea, and M. D. Uhen, “Origin and
Evolution of Large Brains in Toothed Whales,” Anatomical Record 281A
(2004): 1247–55. Encephalization quotient is defined as brain-weight-in-
grams/0.12 body-weight-in-grams0.67.
32. Bowhead whale 08B11 had a brain size of 2,950 grams and weighed
14,222,000 grams; see note 30.
33. W. C. Lancaster, “The Middle Ear of the Archaeoceti,” Journal of Verte-
brate Paleontology 10 (1990): 117–27.
34. V. de Buffrénil, A. de Ricqlès, C. E. Ray, and D. P. Domning, “Bone Histol-
ogy of the Ribs of the Archaeocetes (Mammalia, Cetacea),” Journal of Verte-
brate Paleontology 10 (1990): 455–66.
35. M. Taylor, “Stone, Bone, or Blubber? Buoyancy Control Strategies in
Aquatic Tetrapods,” in Mechanics and Physiology of Animal Swimming, ed. L.
Maddock, Q. Bone, and J. M. V. Rayner (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1994), 205–29.
36. S. I. Madar, “Structural Adaptations of Early Archeocete Long Bones,” in
The Emergence of Whales, ed. J. G. M. Thewissen (New York: Plenum Press,
1998), 353–78.
37. M. M. Moran, S. Bajpai, J. C. George, R. Suydam, S. Usip, and J. G. M.
Thewissen, “Intervertebral and Epiphyseal Fusion in the Postnatal Ontogeny
of Cetaceans and Terrestrial Mammals,” Journal of Mammalian Evolution
(2014), doi:10.1007/s10914–014–9256–7. M. D. Uhen, “New Material of
Natchitochia jonesi and a Comparison of the Innominata and Locomotor
Capabilities of Protocetidae,” Marine Mammal Science (2014), doi:10.1111
/mms.12100.
38. In anatomical language, the bony pelvis includes the unpaired sacrum
plus the paired innominate. The innominate is also called the os coxae and is
composed of ilium, ischium, and pubis. In this book, the more common English-
language use of pelvis is followed, as a synonym of innominate.
39. E. A. Buchholtz, “Implications of Vertebral Morphology for Locomotor
Evolution in Early Cetacea,” in The Emergence of Whales, ed. J. G. M. Thewis-
sen (New York: Plenum Press, 1998), 325–52.
40. F. E. Fish, “Biomechanical Perspective on the Origin of Cetacean Flukes,”
in The Emergence of Whales, ed. J. G. M. Thewissen (New York: Plenum Press,
1998), 303–24.
41. P. W. Webb and R. W. Blake, “Swimming,” in Functional Vertebrate
Morphology, ed. M. Hildebrand, D. M. Bramble, K. F. Liem, and D. B. Wake
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985), 110–28.
42. H. Benke, “Investigations on the Osteology and the Functional Morphol-
ogy of the Flipper of Whales and Dolphins (Cetacea),” Investigations on Cetacea
24 (1993): 9–252.
43. L. N. Cooper, S. D. Dawson, J. S. Reidenberg, and A. Berta, “Neuromus-
cular Anatomy and Evolution of the Cetacean Forelimb,” Anatomical Record
290 (2007): 1121–37.
Notes | 217
44. J. G. M. Thewissen, L. N. Cooper, J. C. George, and S. Bajpai, “From Land
to Water: The Origin of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises,” Evolution: Educa-
tion and Outreach 2 (2009): 272–88.
45. L. Bejder and B. K. Hall, “Limbs in Whales and Limblessness in Other
Vertebrates: Mechanisms of Evolutionary and Developmental Transformation
and Loss,” Evolution & Development 4 (2002): 445–58.
46. M. D. Struthers, “The Bones, Articulations, and Muscles of the Rudimen-
tary Hind-Limb of the Greenland Right Whale ( Balaena mysticetus),” Journal of
Anatomy and Physiology 15 (1881): 142–321. M. D. Struthers, 1893, “On the
Rudimentary Hind Limb of the Great Fin-Whale ( Balaenoptera musculus) in
Comparison with Those of the Humpback Whale and the Greenland Right
Whale,” Journal of Anatomy and Physiology 27 (1893): 291–335.
47. F. A. Lucas, “The Pelvic Girdle of Zeuglodon, Basilosaurus cetoides
(Owen), with Notes on Other Portions of the Skeleton,” Proceedings of the
United States National Museum 23 (1900): 327–31.
48. P. D. Gingerich, “Marine Mammals (Cetacea and Sirenia) from the
Eocene of Gebel Mokattam and Fayum, Egypt: Stratigraphy, Age, and Paleoen-
vironments,” University of Michigan Papers on Paleontology 30 (1992): 1–84.
49. J. Zachos, M. Pagani, L. Sloan, E. Thomas, and K. Billups, “Trends,
Rhythms, and Aberrations in Global Climate 65 Ma to Present,” Science 292
(2001): 686–93.
50. A. Haywood, Creation and Evolution (London: Triangle Books, 1985),
quoted in note 7.
chapter 3. a whale with legs
1. D. P. Domning and V. de Buffrénil, “Hydrostasis in the Sirenia: Quantita-
tive Data and Functional Interpretations,” Marine Mammal Science 7 (1991):
331–68.
2. N. A. Wells, “Transient Streams in Sand-Poor Redbeds: Early-Middle
Eocene Kuldana Formation of Northern Pakistan,” Special Publication, Inter-
national Association for Sedimentology, 6 (1983): 393–403. A. Aslan and
J. G. M. Thewissen, “Preliminary Evaluation of Paleosols and Implications for
Interpreting Vertebrate Fossil Assemblages, Kuldana Formation, Northen Paki-
stan,” Palaeovertebrata 25 (1996): 261–77.
3. R. M. West, “Middle Eocene Large Mammal Assemblage with Tethyan
Affinities, Ganda Kas Region, Pakistan,” Journal of Paleontology 54 (1980):
508–33.
4. P. D. Gingerich and D. E. Russell, “Pakicetus inachus, a New Archaeocete
(Mammalia, Cetacea),” Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, Uni-
versity of Michigan 25 (1981): 235–46. P. D. Gingerich, N. A. Wells, D. E. Rus-
sell, and S. M. I. Shah, “Origin of Whales in Epicontinental Remnant Seas: New
Evidence from the Early Eocene of Pakistan,” Science 220 (1983): 403–406.
5. For cetaceans, bulla is a synonym of tympanic (see chapter 1 and figure 2).
6. J. G. M. Thewissen, S. T. Hussain, and M. Arif, “Fossil Evidence for the
Origin of Aquatic Locomotion in Archaeocete Whales,” Science 263 (1994):
210–12.
218 | Notes
7. S. J. Gould, “Hooking Leviathan by Its Past,” Natural History, May 1994:
8–15.
chapter 4. learning to swim
1. S. J. Gould, “Hooking Leviathan by Its Past,” Natural History, May 1994:
8–15.
2. A. B. Howell, Aquatic Mammals: Their Adaptations to Life in the Water
(Baltimore, MD: C. C. Thomas, 1930).
3. J. E. King, Seals of the World (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983).
4. F. E. Fish, “Function of the Compressed Tail of Surface Swimming Musk-
rats ( Ondatra zibethicus),” Journal of Mammalogy 63 (1982): 591–97. F. E.
The Walking Whales Page 33