How Whale Evolution Kind Of Sucked

[@DanaBanana94]

Whales are always mindblowing to me. Like, they were land animals at some point, that seems crazy. Imagine elephants evolving to feed from the ocean and they "lose" their legs over millions of years to transform them into fins. Evolution is wild.

[@ozarkecologies]

As such all other cetaceans! What’s crazy is thinking about how really the only aquatic species that are known for making vocalizations are cetaceans, because they all used to be land mammals who obviously vocalized as well. We always like to imagine those early cetaceans’ limbs changing to become mobile in water, but just imagine how their vocal cords have changed 😳 This hit me when I was really high watching a nature documentary, and all I could think about was how cetaceans are like cows screaming underwater lol

[@inersdraco]

Hippos have a little more chance to become marine

[@cerperalpurpose]

Man when you find out about manatees your mind is going to be blown

[@numerum_bestia]

@@cerperalpurpose yeah a hippo with flippers is basically a walrus

[@CoachJohnMcGuirk1]

Of course they are mind blowing, it’s how they breathe!

[@Joe_Potts]

At around the 7:30 minute mark, i was thinking "So why did this whale evolution suck?" then i realized it was the suction feeding and was like "Oh..." PBS Eons is smooth with the puns today.

[@ichokedonadoritoonce7670]

Yeet😭😭

[@Galenus1234]

It sucks even more that researchers of a particular kind of prehistoric whales aren't called "baleentologists".

[@paulpeterson4216]

It's ok, the original ancestor was called Mistake-o-don

[@mirmalchik]

@@paulpeterson4216 Oops, I fell down to the floor and found, just, SO MUCH food down here!

[@Bulldogg6404]

I was this-comment-years-old when i realized the pun. thank you.

[@Xnaut314]

An often-overlooked clue that can used to estimate the evolutionary age and origin of mysticetes lays not in the whales themselves, but their parasites. Whale lice have an unusual life cycle where the adults live on and within a baleen whale's skin in a manner that superficially resembles a barnacle, but when they reproduce their larvae only spend a short time in the water column before settling on the seafloor to continue their growth. Once they finish their second stage they need to reattach to a whale to become an adult, and that can only happen by a whale touching its skin against the seafloor for the lice to grab onto. This makes whale lice very rare on species that spend their whole life filter feeding in the open water column, but much more common on species that feed on the seafloor like gray whales. It's also why odontocetes never contract whale lice, as none are specialized to hunt exclusively on the seafloor. It's likely that whale lice have been coevolving with mysticetes since their divergence from odontocetes so by tracking their evolutionary history it could be possible to estimate when the first true mysticetes appeared, as well ad infer that feeding in seafloor sediment was the original driving force that started their distinct evolution.

[@animalpeeps]

That would be so interesting to deliver into. Are there lice that are host specific, and can/will only live on certain species, compared to other life species that might be more flexible in what species of whale they live on? I'm curious if there's a neat, traceable pattern in the lice evolution alongside the whales, kind of how like some mold species coevolved with ants that farmed them and whatnot.

[@ianrobson9601]

WOW !! That`s possibly the most interesting comment I`ve ever read on KZbin.

[@galaxiaknight]

That's insanely interesting

[@Mastermindyoung14]

Human pubic/head lice also has an interesting coevolution history

[@craftsummonner16]

the knowledge.

[@Gaarafan007]

What's most mind blowing to me is how agile such large creatures can be. That footage of the whale flipping over 180 degrees is amazing.

[@DanielMWJ]

Hydrodynamics makes such things insanely easy with a flexible spindle with rudders and speed. There's just *so much* mass in water to push off, yet it parts easily on the edge or point.

[@gabrielruiz5173]

The sheer amount we've been able to put together about prehistoric earth is amazing. I feel so lucky to be alive at this time

[@junodonatus4906]

I agree as we are the living embodiment of the universe becoming conscious and looking back and understanding itself. To paraphrase Carl Sagan.

[@Emily-ye1rj]

The interesting thing about archeology to me isn't finding awesome bones, it's the fact that we can make incredibly well supported claims about the live cycle of T-Rex and how they impacted their environment. We know they had feathers all (on every area we've found) of their skin. We know the COLORS of animals that no simian ever saw!!! We know the sexual habits of wolves that died out before (or around, I don't remember which) humans hit north America. Everything we know and how we know it and how much more we don't know but someday might and everything we'll probably never know is so cool!!!

[@Shadow-In-The-East]

@@junodonatus4906 His exact quote was "We are a way for the universe to know itself."

[@razzy6728]

@@junodonatus4906 and yet people mostly focus on the most insignificant things in life

[@mattvanderford4920]

The sheer amount we have been able to put together??? Like the MAY have eaten like this other creature MAY have ate. That’s not putting anything together at all. That’s call speculation of speculation not putting anything together nor science. It’s a bunch of want to be know it alls that like to make guesses off of a few clues. That could have been caused by 1000 other speculative guesses.

[@davidg5898]

Coincidental timing: the US Navy just released some video of camera footage from their dolphins (cameras mounted on the dolphins), and the researchers found that suction feeding was their main way of catching fish. It isn't pure suction feeding, since the dolphins aren't still, but it's also not ram feeding (swimming faster than the fish) or biting the fish to disable/kill it before swallowing it.

[@anonnyanonymous4800]

They’ve been tracking dolphins for like a century and had underwater cameras for decades and they JUST discovered this? Wow

[@davidg5898]

@@anonnyanonymous4800 We've been living with domestic cats for longer than written history, but how they drink water was only resolved about 10 years ago with high speed macro cameras and advanced knowledge of fluid dynamics. da Vinci described/identified the airfoil shape of bird wings over 500 years ago, but it still took over 400 more years to get combustion engines for achieving powered flight. Sometimes you have to wait until the right equipment/science is created/discovered before you can get answers.

[@slwrabbits]

Schlorp!

[@reuireuiop0]

Wouldn't most predatory fish _and_ fish eating birds & animals (spinosaur !) swallow fish, or any underwater prey, by sucking them up? At least to get them between teeth and then _snap_ use those special fish grabbing teeth. Doesn't work much on dry land or in the air (too thin) though I can imagine swallows & bats sucking up butterflies, dragon flies and moths

[@davidg5898]

@@reuireuiop0 Suction feeding doesn't involve the teeth. It's when the hunter creates a large suction and the prey goes straight down the gullet (depending on the animal, by opening the mouth very quickly, by suddenly expanding the throat, or by blocking the throat with the tongue and pulling it back rapidly). Ram feeding is when you swim faster than the prey, but still swallow it whole without a bit. If biting is involved to kill/disable the fish before swallowing, it's called raptorial feeding. Most marine birds do their fish catching this way, hence why it's called raptorial feeding. There are other feeding types, too, used by different animals. Filter feeding is pushing the water through filters that food can't fit through (whales, whale sharks, some crustaceans, tube worms, anemones, etc). And lunge feeding is a specific type of filter feeding: swimming very quickly to get an enormous mouthful of water that's then filtered. Other critters use tentacles (ocotopuses, squids, cuttlefish) or claws (crabs and lobsters) to catch their prey (or talons, in the case of birds like eagles and ospreys). And there are other methods, too. That said, it is undeniable that most fish use suction feeding (ever watch a goldfish eating?). Non-fish animals in the water, however, are a much more mixed bag. And many employ multiple feeding tactics depending on their prey. The paradigm shift here isn't that dolphins _can_ suction feed. That's been known. The surprise is that suction feeding is their _main_ way of catching fish. It had previously been assumed, because of their teeth, that raptorial feeding was their preferred method .

[@Cylume.]

I'd say whale evolution kind of Blows. 🐳

[@dielaughing73]

The hole thing blows

[@Reyma777]

Mystacodon, a early mysticete has hind flippers and early odontocetes also have this trait. Thus, the two groups of modern whales lost their hind-limbs independently. I used to assume that modern whales lost their hind flippers as soon as they branched off from the archaeocetes.

[@floranse5205]

Makes sense with convergent evolution.

[@Xnaut314]

There are clues of that even in living whales, as not all vestigial legs are preserved the same. Most species only have a few isolated bones left, but the bowhead and right whales still have somewhat articulated legs tucked inside their bodies, indicating that the loss of hind legs didn't occur at the same rate across all modern species even though they did all ultimately reach that point.

[@Reyma777]

@@Xnaut314 I would assume the ancestors of the Balaenidae took longer to lose vestigial hind limbs [including hip bones] because they are slow swimmers. Extant whales lack hind-limbs to reduce drag while swimming.

[@anthonygorman94]

Same.

[@absalomdraconis]

@@Reyma777 : I wonder how much this could indicate about e.g. plesiosaurs.

[@cheif9OO]

I really like that you list the names of all the creatures involved in the story. Makes it easier for me to look them up.

[@aste4949]

What really blows my mind is how, at least in many toothed whales, their trachea _passes up through the middle of their esophagus?!_ I had assumed it would evolve to go _around_ the esophoagus, not pass through it like a deepthroat nasal septum. Now I wonder if that's the case for baleen whales too, especially since they retain two nostrils while toothed whales went to a singular one. Come to think of it, I wonder how their trachea and one vs two nostril blowholes evolved...

[@slwrabbits]

That's really cool, thanks for sharing!

[@blackleague212]

@@slwrabbits I went to an alternate timeline where the whales did not go into the water millions of years ago. They are now dogs. They fight and they also have holes on the top of their heads. oh boy it was a real trip! New York City is a huge rock quarry and Jamaica is the capitol of the planet. It was a lovely timeline.

[@TheEasterRabbit1]

Bro what did you smoke gimme that too

[@mirmalchik]

@@blackleague212 how was electricity generated?

[@athowar]

@@TheEasterRabbit1 smoke a car battery pickled toad.

[@animalpeeps]

Ahhh yess! I wrote a research paper on the evolution of baleen in one of my paleontology classes in college! It is such a fascinating concept as to how it happened and how successful it has become. Thank you guys for making a concise, super educational and descriptive video on something that I don't see discussed too often!

[@paulmurray3459]

Could you please address the evolution of the blowhole? Nostrils that moved further and further back?

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

thats pretty much right😅. wanna learn more about whales. all the whales. check out clint's reptiles.

[@junodonatus4906]

The nostrils did not move back as much as the skull became longer in the front. Imagine a dog's nostrils staying where they are while it's snout elongates. It'll give you somewhat of an idea of what actually happened.

[@sidharthcs2110]

Or the snouts got elongated

[@junodonatus4906]

@Erik Yes, I've seen those pictures of embryonic development but when I looked deeper into the evolutionary history, the explanation of what's happening showed that it was actually the snout that elongates as this happens.

[@junodonatus4906]

@Erik Thanks.. I'll have to do some more looking into it. It has been hard to find a good source.

[@firmanimad]

Most nights my girlfriend asked me to tell her a nighttime story, kinda like ASMR to help her sleep. And I always love to recount things I learned from Eons or Kurzgesagt. Tonight, its all about whales baby.

[@Practicallypreposterous]

Get yourself a bae who'll read you whale facts before bed

[@samrowe2889]

You all still together???

[@amogusenjoyer]

How old is she bro lmfao

[@johnwalters1341]

Interesting video! The Gray Whale is usually considered to be the most primitive of the extant mysticetes, and it does something similar to the suction feeding you describe, only with baleen rather than teeth. The Gray Whale spends the summer in the Bering Sea, where it feeds on bottom-living amphipods (small crustaceans similar to beach fleas), taking in mouthfuls of mud and straining them through its baleen plates.

[@indyreno2933]

@John Walters, actually, the Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is the only surviving member of the family Eschrichtiidae, which belongs to the superfamily Cetotherioidea, which includes the Pygmy Right Whale (Caperea marginata) of the family Cetotheriidae, Cetotherioidea actually is most closely related to the superfamily Balaenoidea which contains the monotypic families Balaenidae (Bowhead Whale and Fossil Relatives) and Eubalaenidae (Right Whales and Fossil Relatives), both superfamilies belong to the infraorder Balaenicephalia, which contains all baleen whales except rorquals (family Balaenopteridae).

[@Reyma777]

@@indyreno2933 The grey whale has been recently moved into the family Balaenopteridae. Genetic studies show Balaenopteridae to be paraphyletic if the Grey Whale wasn’t included in the family. Most the rorquals are more closely related to the Grey Whale than they are to the Minke.

[@indyreno2933]

@MrReyno Tanks, actually, the closest living relative of the Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is actually the Pygmy Right Whale (Caperea marginata), both species are the only two surviving members of the superfamily Cetotherioidea, which actually belongs to the infraorder Balaenicephalia, making the grey whale and pygmy right whale more closely related to the bowhead whale and right whales of the superfamily Balaenoidea, the rorquals (family Balaenopteridae) are the most distantly related from all the other extant baleen whales as they are the only extant family of the superfamily Balaenopteroidea and the infraorder Balaenopterocephalia, the Balaenoidea contains two monotypic families that are extant being Balaenidae for the bowhead whale and its extinct relatives and Eubalaenidae for the right whales and their extinct relatives, the infraorders of baleen whales (suborder Mysticeti) are defined by the facial appearance and their abilities of filter-feeding, Balaenicephalia and Balaenopterocephalia, the infraorder Balaenopterocephalia contains only the rorquals (family Balaenopteridae), while the infraorder Balaenicephalia contains all the other extant baleen whales, there are only ten extant rorquals within six genera and three subfamilies, the ten living rorqual species are the Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), the Arctic Minke Whale (Pterobalaena acutorostrata), the Antarctic Minke Whale (Pterobalaena bonaerensis), the Blue Whale (Sibbaldius musculus), the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), the Sei Whale (Rudolphius borealis), the Omura's Whale (Rorqualus omurai), the Rice's Whale (Rorqualus ricei), the Bryde's Whale (Rorqualus brydei), and the Eden's Whale (Rorqualus edeni).

[@dannielleeagles7791]

Funny thing about maiabalaena, the apparent evidence for the lack of baleen was overlooked in the initial paper, there was another paper published saying that the margins of the maxilla (upper jaw) weren't preserved so there could have been foramen in the palate that have been eroded away. There is evidence for whales having both teeth and baleen. Eomysticetes have tiny nonfunctional teeth in the front of the upper jaw, and while baleen has been preserved from them they almost certainly had baleen. There was a paper that even suggested the older group Aetiocetidae may have had baleen and functional teeth (Ekdale and Deméré 2021 (they also brought up the earlier point about maiabalaena)).

[@attilatheone3406]

You may be interested to know that some members of the team who described Maiabalaena recently dropped a really important paper in which they made a really compelling argument against the use of those lateral palatal foramina to infer baleen. Those same structures are also found in terestrial artiodactyls, and we know those don't have baleen for instance. I believe this paper was Peredo, Pyenson and Uhen (2022) if you're interested! Was it the most recent Ekdale and Demere paper that brought up the point about the margins of Maiabalaena's palate? thanks for sharing!

[@6099x]

I can't tell you how nice it is, to come home to see PBS Eons sitting in my inbox, ready for me to watch and learn some more about the life of this world. followed by melting my brain watching spacetime - cheers PBS Eons team 💌

[@UseADamnCoaster]

Whale and dolphin evolution absolutely fascinates me. Their transition from land to water is an incredible evolutionary feat. Evidence of the adaptability of life forms.

[@egg7247]

Ooh I'm glad this is being covered, its not a common thing talked about in most whale evo vids

[@Galaxia7]

@@bob.5857 quite a lot yes

[@LadyhawksLairDotCom]

Contemporary gray whales strain mud from the sea floor. They lack the throat pleats that most other baleen whales possess. (Whales with pleats are called "rorquals.")

[@gryphonrampant24]

The revelations about suction-feeding whale ancestors on the ocean floor makes me curious about the omission of whiskers in the paleoart. When suction-feeding was mentioned, I immediately thought of walruses--who, interestingly, have large keratin filaments near their mouth in the form of sensory whiskers. I don't know how plausible a migration from bottom-feeding sensory whiskers to filtering baleen is, but I'd like to hear more.

[@mlebrooks]

Baleen is one of the crazy evolutions as is sonar. Whales evolved both. The first time I saw one of these ancient skulls was on the main floor of the sciport museum in Shreveport Louisiana. Thank you sciport.

[@DanielMWJ]

The crazy thing about sonar is that even humans have a weak version of it. Anything with advanced hearing and vocalization can hear shifts in acoustics while vocalizing. For example, when approaching a wall. The transition from the basics to *better than sight* is definitely crazier, though.

[@HelenM1994]

Guessing they didn't have a whale of a time evolving.

[@MAGA_Extremist]

Or maybe they did.

[@FrogPondering]

I will throw up if you do this again

[@rhodrage]

They certainly didn't do it on Porpoise

[@elijahisconfused]

im intrigued to see more puns in the replies

[@ALWilde-LibertyTree]

Oh we got a punn-isher here folks!!!!!!

[@JJ-oq3tz]

Modern day whales are believed to have moved into the oceans around the Teyths Sea, now in Mediterranean Sea and Asia. Fossils recoverd showed an animal called Archaeoceti, thought to be the first sub order of cetaceans, existed in the estuaries of Tethys Sea. I want to learn about hippos

[@Dragrath1]

Wasn't the Tethys actually a full blow ocean back in the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic? I think it had largely started to close by the time whales moved towards the ocean, particularly due to India, rapid motion and the Iberian plate having been sandwiched between Africa and Eurasia by 70 Ma but that long dynamic history probably had some effect on what lived there specifically in that it would have been quite deep involving numerous subduction zones and if modern ocean basins are any guide probably also spreading ridges and transform faults which all could support a wide number of environments.

[@ordinaryorca9334]

This was great, could you do a similar video on the signature trait of their teethed cousins, odontocetes' echolocation? Exploring it from a bat perspective would also be cool, especially wiyh their arms race with certain moth species. No pressure though, not all vids need to be whale themed

[@Chrismas815]

I love learning about whale evolution!

[@johnqpublic2718]

@Benjamin David Lurie so that he can regurgitate the script of the video later on, and seem intelligent.

[@Rajclaw]

@@johnqpublic2718 or maybe, just maybe, it’s because it’s imteresting to them!

[@Rajclaw]

@Benjamin David Lurie what does that matter? Do you have some preconcieved notion about people who don’t show their face? Is what I said lesser to you for no reason other than that or because you just didn’t like what I had to say?

[@chocomilkfps1264]

@@johnqpublic2718 projection is a hell of a drug

[@Rajclaw]

@Benjamin David Lurie bold assumption there, got literally anything other than my pfp to back it up? And what does that have to do with anything?

[@FelixstoweFoamForge]

As someone who strains soup through my moustache, I'm all in favour of baleen wales having mouth-taches.

[@GLitiatc0]

Perfect timing for this video! I just babbled about whale evolution to my coworkers today against their will.

[@DaveCM]

So,...you are an energy vampire?

[@GLitiatc0]

@@DaveCM no, but if you're going to shadow me at work and not contribute to the task, you don't get to control the topic.

[@slwrabbits]

@@GLitiatc0 well said! educate away!

[@DaveCM]

@@GLitiatc0 LOL! Very valid point?

[@jacktowers7533]

Reptiles and Mammals: Spend millions of years to evolve out of the sea and walk on Land Whales & Plesiosaurs: "IM GOING BACK IN BOYS!!!"

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

Reptiles and mammals didn't evolve out of the sea.

[@hadiisaboss5307]

​@@Dr.Ian-Plectlife originated in the ocean

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

@@hadiisaboss5307 Yes, I know. That's a distinct point.

[@hadiisaboss5307]

@@Dr.Ian-Plect my apologies Dr autism

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

@@hadiisaboss5307 Another self-thumbing toddler muted.

[@yanghu12]

Did you hear about the marine biology PhD student who hated whales? She wrote a diss-cetacean about it. I'll see myself out.

[@GregMerritt-ws8tq]

Stealing this. 🤣🤣🤣

[@kitchenmom]

I love all your videos, not only do I learn new cool things I can impress my teenagers with at dinner, you also make it fun with your joy for sharing this knowledge with us. So thank you all for being amazing.

[@RavinRay]

Nice inclusion of _Odobenocetops_ the walrus-faced whale in the background at 3:00 and again throughout the video!

[@dishevelleddev]

It still blows my mind that tiny plankton can exist in such numbers to sustain such huge creatures, let alone to such a degree that both kinds of creatures can be so wildly successful.

[@ven7165]

I remember going to a museum as a kid and the Buffalo statue was HUGE. I can't imagine how big a whale is.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Well, a blue whale can more or less hold a buffalo like a plushy under one if its flippers, if that helps.

[@brandonwithnell612]

a big whale skeleton or statue can take up a a whole wing of a mueseum as its centerpiece, never seen a mueseum like that in real life as the few ive been too usually go for dinosuars as the center pieces but i imagine a few would use whales as well

[@slwrabbits]

​@@aprinnyonbreak1290 Thank you for this adorable yet terrifying image.

[@dynojackal1911]

Small correction: There is still one living non-giant baleen whale: the pygmy right whale, the last cetotheriid.

[@8pelagic610]

The shots of the whales surfacing to filter feed made me think of all the sailors who were so terrified of having their entire ships swallowed when the whale was after krill. Heh.

[@ThePunkPatriot]

Good of you to do the land acknowledgement at the end! Kudos

[@coconutcore]

Wait…did they just call a land animal a whale without technically being wrong!? 🤯 This is going to keep me awake tonight.

[@sylviadailey9126]

Whales can really range between being on land to being in water and everything in between. They are all related. It is just that the water extremists are the only ones that still live. So that is the only ones that we are used to. The Whale's closest living relative is Hippo, and that is something in between. Hippos lean more to the land end.

[@jounisuninen]

@@sylviadailey9126 And the scientific evidence for that little story ?

[@shanemeekin1833]

Cool to see my professor Ewan Fordyce and the Otago Geology Museum in there!

[@hangukhiphop]

Evolving baleen was a HUGE mystac!

[@mirrorblue100]

Amazing animals - hope they can survive man.

[@danolsen8718]

Thank you Eons for amazing content! I would love to see an episode that compares the highly complex brains of toothed whales against those of baleen whales, and some of the theories on why toothed whales are so intelligent, possibly interpreting echolocation ‘imagery’, or dealing with social nuance.

[@ViciousOS]

I love how Kallie is the only one that doesn't groan with the awful jokes, hahaha...

[@hogwartswhovian]

An episode about seal evolution would be cool!!! Another sea mammal thats so specialized for the ocean, fascinating

[@beback_]

None of this seems particularly bad I don't see why you say it su... aaaah I see.

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

2:30 *imagines a toothless man folding in his lips and moustache to filter feed* I'm more intrigued than grossed out lol.

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

Mystacodon's teeth were groovy, as was this video! Great video! Love the channel! I always have a Whale of a time watching! 😄 Today is also my 32nd birthday! (Aug. 18th) 🎂

[@adityajenamani7876]

Happy Birthday. 🐳Hope you have a whale of a time.

[@krisallen7198]

I really look forward to when you are the host, you are by far my favorite

[@veggieboyultimate]

To think there was a completely separate group of whales feeding a different way than today’s whales, paleontology is so fascinating! Can you do a video about the pelagornithids? I even came up with a name for it, “when birds had…” oh wait.

[@cheeseburgerrunner5217]

Your art department is just fantastic, beautiful images. Makes the imagination run wild.

[@jacksonstarky8288]

When you consider the size of the arms relative to the size of the rest of the body and the required size of such a bicycle, Tyrannosaurus Wrecks is inevitable.

[@AndrewTBP]

Obviously it’s a Penny Farthing bicycle

[@dielaughing73]

​@@AndrewTBPwith dinosaur-hangers

[@nicomaxfield]

Looks like some whales suck, others bite, and all of them blow.

[@RichSmithson]

Makes sense because some scientists believe Sperm Whales are not only hunting Giant Squid down there, but they are using their lower jaws along the sea floor like a plow to eat crabs and floor dwelling fish.

[@MeganThorstensen]

I love how casually she just dropped that whales were originally land mammals and I am just completely shook.

[@ceruleanhero]

Within 25 milion years as well. Which is crazy

[@dielaughing73]

They used to have legs

[@bunso521]

What really makes me curious about evolution as a whole is the point of transition between organisms like at what point did it happen and how did it work? For example, a land animal adept in the waters transitioning fully into an aquatic animal. Did they just had an offspring was unable to go on land and if so how could it have survived being the first generation of that species.

[@seanm8665]

The theory of evolution doesn’t make sense. There’s too many plot holes. I ask how it can be accepted when there is still so much that is unknown.

[@Benjamin_Kraft]

The idea of species being transitional is an illusion arriving from misunderstanding the evolutionary process. Every species is in a constant transitional state, and conversely no species is ever an in-between species. Evolution has no end goals, or checkpoints, every speciation throughout the eons isn't a pathways to a final goal, it's an adaptation of that organism current niche and environment. Archeopteryx wasn't a just a stepping stone from dinosaurs to moderns birds, it was an organism within its' own right and calling it a transitional species is like looking at an elephant today and calling it a transitional species between it's forefathers and whatever species its' offspring will evolve into in the next 10 million years. The concept of species is really an illusion, it's just a tool to make the world more understandable for us humans. Also, transitions don't happen instantly or uniformly. It is unlikely we'll ever know exactly what the process was like for cetaceans when transitioning into being fully aquatic, but it's not like a hybrid land living animal gave birth to a fully aquatic animal. Probably the ancestors of cetaceans resembled seals in that they hunted for food in the waters and birthed on land. Gradually they started to give birth closer to the water, because it was closer to food, and their offspring would sooner and sooner go into the water with their parents, since that would also be advantageous and selected for, and they would start giving birth closer and closer to the sea. Eventually some individuals could've started giving birth in the shallows instead of the beach, and eventually this adaptation could've led to births in the sea. The important thing to note is that while at the same time some were giving birth in the shallows it's very likely many individuals were still giving birth on land, and when births started to happen by sea, many likely still gave birth in the shallows. Since living in the sea enables increased size and selects for shapes more advantageous for marine locomotion (meaning flippers instead of legs etc) I'd wager the transition into a fully aquatic life didn't happen until long after cetaceans already were living a fully marine life. It's not like an precursor to modern cetaceans was born one day and just was unable to live on land, more likely, cetaceans existed for thousand of years who technically could still crawl on land if they needed to, but they had no such needs, and so with time all those traits atrophied. Now this is all a hypothetical scenario, I'm sure paleontologists and marine biologists can correct me, but you can see how at no point is there's a requirement for a "leap" as it were between species.

[@juliaf_]

Eventually, an animal wouldn't need to go on land, so it just wouldn't, but would still have the ability to. Since the animal doesn't need to go on land, mutations that prevent it from doing so no longer have pressure against them, so those features disappear over time. There's no real specific point where one species becomes another. We just choose an animal and decide when something is sufficiently different to call it a new species

[@raoulduke7668]

@@seanm8665 "I`m too stupid to understand, therefore it`s not true"

[@danielmartinsson899]

Evolution is gradual, it's not a ladder or a stair. It's more like a gradient of colors going from one to another to another.

[@danukil7703]

Lovely video! Just a minor comment: based on their websites, I believe they spell it "Yakama" instead of "Yakina"

[@mackdog3270]

I absolutely would not be diving in ANY water thirty six million years ago LoL. After learning about the suchus family and assorted other marine horrors, I've completely sworn off water of any sort when I time travel.

[@becauseimafan]

😂😂 that last bit!! 👍👍

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

I bet they're all tasty, though.

[@nmarbletoe8210]

Lets go back to when there were land animals. Real estate was cheap! We can start the first coffee shop on Earth. We can call it Ground.

[@serpentinefire921]

I'm sure the evolution of every other species was just painless smoooooth sailing

[@marilynlucero9363]

Imagine growing a mustache inside of your mouth where normally your teeth is supposed to go. Thanks, I hate it. I love the knowledge though!

[@slwrabbits]

Did you know that rabbits have fur on the inside of their cheeks?

[@michaelfritts6249]

Soup stuck in mustache.. Those with ingrown hairs found their niche.. 😉

[@aiko9393]

10:15 Petition for Blake to wear that shirt the next time he's on 👇🏻

[@catherinedaleo4078]

It was refreshing to see the land acknowledgment of Indigenous peoples at the end of this video, thank you! :)

[@knightofskylark]

I have never seen that view of baleen in a whale mouth. My first thought was hair brush

[@xxoldgreeneyesxx]

Soooo we could gene edit today’s baleen whales to have teeth again… I’m sensing a new movie series 😂

[@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug]

Am I the only one who gets "Jolene" by Dolly Parton stuck in my head, but with the name "Jolene" replaced with "baleen" whenever I hear people saying that word repeatedly? Baleen, baleen, baleen, baleeeeeeeen!

[@SepiaChild]

Killer Whales (wolves of the seas) are related to Mesonychids (wolf with hooves)

[@aryanprivilege9651]

German Wehr 🐺 wolves dogs canids and wolves aren’t anywhere near having common ancestors recently. All divergent, how dare you talk about the earths kings this is their planet. Water all orcas live all seas divergence into separate species cultures. They said your related to a proto primate? That maybe true but it’s cruel. Apologize at ocean on proper idioma. King salmon culture or Chinnock. Moose killer male.

[@rebekkathors]

This is so interesting, as a whale watching guide I've always wondered about this and was never able to find any understandable, solid answers, so thank you for this!

[@Allyourbase1990]

These videos are so much better than anything in learned school

[@YouGuessIGuess]

A mustache inside your mouth that acts as a flavor saver? Some things you can't un-learn.

[@Dobromir_Chodkowski]

Something about Kallie makes all she says legit stuff.

[@admiral_m_10k35]

I greatly appreciate this channel

[@FriendlyNeiborhoodAsexual]

Why is baleen freaking me out? I feel like it’s triggering some kind of phobia, but I don’t know which one it is. Maybe it just reminds me of the underside of mushrooms (I have mycophobia)

[@DardS8Br]

You guys should go visit Beecher’s Trilobite Beds near Rome, in Oneida County, NY! It’s so incredibly pretty and the geology there is super interesting. Plus the fossils are awesome

[@DardS8Br]

@Benjamin David Lurie I’m not a bot lmao. I was just trying to get the comment in as fast as I could. The Beecher’s Beds are genuinely lit tho

[@kellydalstok8900]

@Benjamin David Lurie projecting again

[@matthew_ferguson]

I really appreciated the land acknowledgement at the end of the video.

[@shelbydean7906]

Thanks for this great video. Whale evolution is amazing!

[@rcamargo636]

@Benjamin David Lurie go get er, Benji

[@thejadedjester4935]

@Benjamin David Lurie are you actually trying to hit on someone on a youtube comment? Why. And they don't have any obligation to answer you.

[@DarkFleurofIra]

@Benjamin David Lurie Me thinketh she was not interested in anyway

[@DarkFleurofIra]

@Benjamin David Lurie Unimpressed with your behavior and not interested

[@cinnamonsunshine9653]

thanks for the land acknowledgment.

[@olwolf]

Thank you. That was truly fascinating! Please keep producing your content!! 🐺

[@chaoscope]

Fun fact: the layman word for large sea dwelling mammals in French is "baleine", which translates more or less to whale, even thought it applies to all of them, not just baleen whales. Anyway, this comment is just an excuse for me to express my eternal gratitude to PBS Eons for providing such a high quality scientific content on KZbin. What amazes me the most about it is how every species name is pronounced as if they were everyday words, even though they are usually made of five syllables or more, out of combination of letters that are probably deemed illegal by Scrabble tournament directors.

[@eduardoespino3117]

Spectacular video. Thank you.

[@СергійДємєнтєєв]

Unexpected fact: There was a pterasaur named Pterodaustro who also had baleen.

[@Scarlet_Soul]

They have hips that just don't quit

[@natepolidoro4565]

I love the title so much.

[@julesmasseffectmusic]

Yeah imagine havi g to spend your entire life swimming, singing, eating seafood and mating. I dont. I am Australian.

[@Adnan--984]

Girl you need to show up more❤❤❤

[@eurybaric]

I'd love it if you would put the present day location info on the photos you use

[@menalgharbwalsharq648]

It may seem strange but I always imagine whales and dolphins in a living nightmares always swiming for their life to catch a breath and always cold in the oceans, whole other mamals are peacefully enjoying sunlight on the shores

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

I can't afford to become a patreon, but I do have jokes for days! What does a backwards cow say? - Oom! How does a Velociraptor feel after a marathon? - Dino-Sore What do you get when you cross an elephant with a rhino? - Elliphino. *I'll be here all week!* 😄

[@0og]

alright, its day 2, gimme anither joke. you have 5 more days after this one too.

[@oivinf]

_"if you were diving in the water [...] about 36 million years ago"_ Yeah I absolutely wouldn't be for a plethora of reasons, but do go on

[@bluewhalestudioblenderanim1132]

so technicly all whales technicly have the ability grow teeth if it is important . . that is actualy a VERY Interesting concept to think about :D not to mention . . imagining a world where massive baleen whale would also have teeth . . is something I enjoy quite a bit

[@slwrabbits]

so do chickens!

[@alexholbourne708]

Baleen, baleen, baleen, BALEEEN! I'm begging of you please don't take my krill

[@GustavSvard]

Sure, the Blue Whale could well be the largest animal ever on Earth - but does that also mean that the Blue Whale has the largest muscle ever on earth? And which one is it, in that case?

[@mauddib696]

It is actually speculated that an animal cannot grow larger then a blue whale. There is video on it that I can’t remember but as far as we know (which is only 1-5% of all live that existed) a blue whale is the largest animal in earth’s history.

[@myriamickx7969]

Dorsal mucles?

[@Pilum1000]

I imagine the Maiabalaena use her tongue for catch up fishes and seals and drag they into her mouth. Like the elephant use his trunk :> or the anteater grabs the ants

[@kimsubaki6389]

Damn, i was gonna dive at what's now southern peru 36 million years ago

[@adrianaslund8605]

I like to see a movie about people going back in time and witnessing the ancestors of modern animals. Being amazed at the thought of these elongated wolf capybaras being ancestors of things hunting giant squid in the pitch blackness of the depths.

[@astick5249]

Oh now I get the title....

[@emperortrevornorton3119]

Went from one of the top predators of the sea to one of the top filter feeders pretty much not all but most popular whales

[@AndrewTBP]

They’re still predators, just that their prey is very much smaller.

[@joonpak]

Whales have more in common with us humans than fish… is that mind boggling or what!

[@princessjellyfish98]

my dog is a chocolate lab/basset hound mix and she looks a lot like an early whale ancestor

[@bdrenfro]

I worked on the Paleomap project with Scotese! 😁

[@22vx]

Nice job 👌 thanx for sharing!

[@theqdie]

“Blake has one, anyways” hahaha HAHAHAHA

[@mathiasthelander7834]

I still hope that Steve is ok.