Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"There is an immediacy to Thewissen’s writing and an urgency to the excavations, and readers curious about paleontological fieldwork will appreciate the enthusiasm and specificity with which he approaches his subject matter. . . . The whale’s evolution and Thewissen’s contributions to its study are both extraordinary." * Publishers Weekly *
"Does a splendid job of showing what it is like to be a palaeontologist. Thewissen's vivid descriptions of fieldwork in Pakistan and India will give readers a clear sense of the joys and frustrations, and the tedium and excitement, that the work entails. . . . Thewissen's book is a perfect introduction to the field."
* NewScientist *
"The Indiana Jones of biology is an engaging guide in this marine detective story. . . . The Walking Whales is part biological text, part detective story." * Times Higher Education *
"Racily recounted adventures . . . Meticulous comparative work." -- Richard Shelton * Times Literary Supplement *
"Delightful reading . . . Thewissen's book is a fine account." -- Rob Hardy * The Dispatch *
"Mixes memoir, adventure, history, and popular science to tell one of the most fascinating stories to emerge from paleontology in the last quarter century. . . . This is an excellent, accessible summary of a fascinating and fruitful career and a treasure trove of information regarding the first 20 million years of cetacean history that will be used for years to come." -- Michael R. McGowen * Science Direct *
"The book alternates between entertaining exploits in the field that reminded me of a gentler version of Indiana Jones and detailed discussions of whale anatomy and evolutionary descent. . . . The author is a good teacher, thorough and with a fine sense of humor." -- Rob Hardy * The Columbus Dispatch *
"Thewissen provides an excellent balance between the science and the narrative. . . . an excellent read." -- T. A. Franz-Odendaal * CHOICE *
Table of Contents1. A Wasted Dig
Fossils and War
A Whale Ear
2. Fish, Mammal, or Dinosaur?
The King Lizard of Cape Cod
Basilosaurid Whales*
Basilosaurids and Evolution
3. A Whale with Legs
The Black and White Hills
A Walking Whale
4. Learning to Swim
Meeting the Killer Whale
From Dog-Paddle to Torpedo
Ambulocetid Whales*
Ambulocetus and Evolution
5. When the Mountains Grew
The High Himalayas
Kidnapping in the Hills
Indian Whales
6. Passage to India
Stranded in Delhi
Whales in the Desert
A 150-Pound Skull
7. A Trip to the Beach
The Outer Banks
A Fossilized Coast
8. The Otter Whale
The Whale with No Hands
Remingtonocetid Whales*
Building a Beast out of Bones
9. The Ocean Is a Desert
Forensic Paleontology
Drinking and Peeing
Fossilized Drinking Behavior
Walking with Ambulocetus
10. The Skeleton Puzzle
If Looks Could Kill
How Many Bones Make a Skeleton?
Finding Whales’ Sisters
11. The River Whales
Hearing in Whales
Pakicetid Whales*
September 11, 2001
12. Whales Conquer the World
A Molecular SINE
The Black Whale
Protocetid Whales*
Protocetids and History
13. From Embryos to Evolution
A Dolphin with Legs
The Marine Park at Taiji
Shedding Limbs
Whaling in Taiji
14. Before Whales
The Widow’s Fossils
The Ancestors of Whales
Indohyus*
A Trust for Fossils
15. The Way Forward
The Big Question
Tooth Development
Baleen as Teeth
Notes
Index
*These six headings summarize the biology of the six fossil groups that form the transition between whales and their terrestrial ancestors. Their relationships to each other and to the living families of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are given in figure 66.
