Did dolphins and whales ever have legs?

Answer 1

The dolphins and whales as we know and define them now lack hindlegs (except for tiny bones within their bodies) and have modified forelimbs (flippers).
Cetaceans evolved from even-hoofed land mammals (they're relatives of pigs, hippos, cows and deer) that had a more generalized appearance and 'normal' legs, but the question is, were these pre-cetaceans "whales"? It depends on the definition of the term.
Some of the transitional forms indeed look like "whales with legs", while others are quite different. Check these:
Rodhocetus (and a phylogenetic tree for whales):
http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Units/520Cetartiodactyla/520.120.html
Basilosaurus:
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/cetacea/cetacean.html
Pakicetus
http://www.researchcasting.ca/pakicetus.htm


PS. By the way, I could not resist asking: If dolphins were created to be "perfectly adapted" to aquatic environments... why do they breathe with lungs instead of gills, which are much more efficient in water? Maybe because all organisms carry their evolutionary history with them?

Answer 2

Did Dolphins Have Legs

Answer 3

One day in school I was given a worksheet. It said that dolphins long ago could walk or crawl on land. Is this statement true or is it evolution? — Jacob of Hendersonville, NC

Dear Jacob,

Your question about dolphins and evolution is very good. Some scientists who do not believe that God created the heavens and the Earth think that dolphins and whales evolved from land animals. They believe that a long time ago, some land animals went into the sea to look for food. Over a long period of time, their bodies changed into bodies more suited for the sea. These scientists say that such animals' hind legs disappeared and their front legs turned into flippers. Then, their nostrils moved to the tops of their heads.

Jacob, this is the theory of evolution. It is not true. There is no evidence that these changes took place. A dolphin's body is perfectly designed for the sea. For instance, powerful muscles seal up the dolphins "blowhole" while it is underwater. If it did not have this ability, it would drown. Also, dolphins have a sensitive system called "echolocation" (EK-o-lo-CA-shun), which helps them locate underwater objects in their path. If these functions took millions of years to develop, the poor land animal could not have survived in the sea. God created dolphins to live in the water (read Genesis 1:20-23).

Remember Jacob, just because something appears in a book that does not make it true.

Answer 4

Their ancestors did. But speciation probably occurred so that even if an ancestor tried to mate with a modern whale or dolphin, no viable offspring would be produced.

Answer 5

No, but their ancestors did, and they have the buds, with the unexpressed genetic code to do so.. Google whale evolution.

Because, Camellia, evolution by natural selection only works with what it has and does not have foresight. Limbs could be adapted to fins and the like, but there was no possibility of lungs becoming gills if you consider the mechanism of both. Organisms always carry their evolved history.

Good sites, by the way.

Answer 6

There was a news video posted a while back about a 4 finned bottlenose dolphin. It has some info.

http://video.aol.com/video-search/id/1716124417

Answer 7

It's possible that they once lived on land and had feet. But once the land started to melt that theey needed to evolve to live in that area.

Answer 8

Yes.
http://encarta.msn.com/text_761565254___20/Whale.html

-Just look it up. Don't post the question on here, get answers from ignorant people.

Answer 9

No, they're mammals but they just evolved differently. Good question though

Answer 10

No. They have tails to swim.