Maiacetus

Today’s most heavily blogged science story is probably the discovery of a new species of early whale. A team of researchers led by whale evolution expert Philip Gingerich discovered the remains - a largely complete adult male, and a female that was carrying a near-term fetus - during field work in Pakistan in 2000 and 2004. They’ve named the new species Maiacetus inuus.

If you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating discovery and what it can tell us about the evolution of whales, here are a few links to check out:

The PLoS one paper that describes the species

Bora’s collection of blog links
The article about the new find at Laelaps - if you don’t read any others, read that one.