Ambulocetus natans is a species of early amphibious archaeocete cetacean from the Kuldana Formation in Pakistan during the early Eocene, 48 or 47 million years ago. It is among the most completely known Eocene cetaceans, vital to the study of cetacean evolution and the transition from land to sea. Ambulocetus probably had a long, broad, and powerful snout, and eyes near the top of the head. It may have hunted like a crocodile, waiting near the water's surface and ambushing large mammals, using the jaws to clamp onto and drown or thrash prey. It may have swum like a river otter, alternating beats of the hind limbs while keeping the forelimbs tucked in for most of its propulsive power, simultaneously undulating the torso and tail. It had four functional limbs and may have walked much like a sea lion. It possibly had webbed feet and lacked a tail fluke. It lived in a hot, coastal swamp, probably in a river mouth.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambulocetus
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1863:
Pickett's Charge, a futile Confederate infantry assault against Union Army positions, occurred during the final and bloodiest day of fighting in the Battle of Gettysburg, marking a turning point in the American Civil War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickett%27s_Charge
1940:
Second World War: The Royal Navy attacked the French fleet at Mers El Kébir (ship pictured), fearing that the ships would fall into Axis hands after the French–German armistice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-K%C3%A9bir
1970:
Dan-Air Flight 1903 crashed into the slopes of the Montseny Massif in Catalonia, Spain, killing all 112 people aboard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan-Air_Flight_1903
2013:
General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a coalition to depose Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in a coup d'état, suspending the constitution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Egyptian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
ambivert: (psychology) A person who is neither clearly extroverted nor introverted, but has characteristics of each. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ambivert
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The decisive moment in human evolution is perpetual. That is why the revolutionary spiritual movements that declare all former things worthless are in the right, for nothing has yet happened. --Franz Kafka https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka