Valley of whales in Egypt: once in the Sahara lapped a warm sea

As is known, modern whales are secondary aquatic animals. That is, they originated from land mammals who preferred the water way of life. The process of evolution of modern cetaceans was along the path of increasing body weight and changing the structure of the skeleton. The remains of animals found in the Whale Valley illustrate this fascinating process for millions of years.

The first remains of the most ancient marine mammals were found in the Whale Valley at the beginning of the 20th century. There are many very well preserved skeletons of pre-laborers from the group of archaeocetes. As paleontologists believe, these ancient cetaceans have already completely switched to aquatic life and their hind legs have gradually lost their importance. The remains of whales found in Egypt already had a characteristic for modern cetacean tail. But the structure of the jaw still largely resembles their land ancestors. The size of the Egyptian pre-labor is astonishing: the largest specimen is 21 meters long.

The oldest cetaceans from the group of archeocephae lived in the expanses of the Sahara during the Eocene, about 36-40 million years ago. This geological epoch is characterized by a warm climate and an increase in the area of ​​the seas relative to land areas. Looking at the endless sands of the Sahara, it's hard to imagine that once there was a warm sea filled with strange animals. Unfortunately, most of the inhabitants of this reservoir became extinct, becoming the progenitors of modern species. In addition to the remains of whales, skeletons of sharks, skates, turtles and crocodiles of the Eocene period were also found in Wadi al-Hitan.

Today this amazing facility is accessible for tourists. Therefore, when you are bored with basking on the beaches of the Red Sea and contemplating architectural monuments, go bravely to Wadi al-Khitan, where you can touch the amazing past of our planet.