| Dolphin reveals an extra set of ‘legs’
Dolphin reveals an extra set of 'legs' - Science - MSNBC.com Quote:
TOKYO - Japanese researchers said Sunday that a bottlenose dolphin captured last month has an extra set of fins that could be the remains of hind legs, a discovery that may provide further evidence that ocean-dwelling mammals once lived on land.
Fishermen captured the four-finned dolphin alive off the coast of Wakayama prefecture in western Japan on Oct. 28, and alerted the nearby Taiji Whaling Museum, according to museum director Katsuki Hayashi.
Fossil remains show dolphins and whales were four-footed land animals about 50 million years ago and share the same common ancestor as hippos and deer. Scientists believe they later transitioned to an aquatic lifestyle and their hind limbs disappeared.
| Intriguing. Could this dolphin or its mother have been subject to some kind of environmental toxin which exposed a normally obscure and antiquated genotype, or was this just random fluke?  Either way this is noteworthy.
"I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland." - Woody Allen |