CNN World
“The discovery of the new basilosaurid whale, Tutcetus rayanensis,
has brought about a substantial shift in our understanding of cetacean life histories
during the Eocene epoch,” said lead study author Mohammed S. Antar, a paleontologist at the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center in Egypt, via email.
Unlike earlier basilosaurid finds, there are indications that, despite its relatively small size, the subadult T. rayanensis and, quite possibly, other basilosaurids could have grown rapidly. They “might have undergone faster developmental processes than previously believed, suggesting a diverse range of growth strategies within this group,” Antar said.
The discovery “helps clarify parts of the evolutionary tree and pushes back some of the changes we thought were happening,” said paleobiologist Nicholas Pyenson, curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. He wasn’t involved with the study.