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Could whales, or other marine mammals return to land-life; or at least an amphibious nich?
Topic Started: Jan 20 2011, 08:37 AM (1,670 Views)
lone shee
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Yes, I know probably not, but could they?
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Kamidio
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Ceteceans, no. Pinnipeds, already amphibious.
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Carlos
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Maybe primitive sirenians could. They share a common amphibious ancestor with elephants, embriopods and desmostylians that lived in the shallow seas of what is now India.
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

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xaritscin
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the problem is that Cetaceans are very specialized, it would take much time to see them return...

but its possible, maybe for little species like porpoises.
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Zoroaster
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penumbra espinosa
Jan 20 2011, 11:13 AM
the problem is that Cetaceans are very specialized, it would take much time to see them return...

but its possible, maybe for little species like porpoises.
I'd agree - possible, a small species of porpoise that develops a feeding method similar to that employed by killer whales that almost beach themselves grabbing baby sealions from the water's edge...

the most successful individuals would be the ones that are better at landing and getting back in the water - leading to individuals that venture further on to land to "harvest" more of whatever food source they were taking advantage of by "almost' beaching in the first place... eventually spending more time out of water, they'd develop skin better suited to air.

if it were to happen, I can't see them ever re-evolving a 2nd pair of back legs tho, they'd evolve stronger front flipper muscles, and possibly use their tail to support their weight, or just locomote like true seals (Phocidae).
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Kamidio
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Or perhaps a whole new kind of biped.
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urufumarukai
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Or mabye something like this?


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Ànraich
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urufumarukai
Feb 11 2011, 10:49 PM
That's similar to the evolution of the Priapans in my project! Except they started out in water, they didn't go from land to water to land again.

And as for marine mammals returning to land, highly doubtful. Whales will most certainly never make it back to land, they're simply too specialized; though orcas might be able to pull it off (they would be terrifying land predators, IMO). I suppose maybe dolphins could, though I don't see what would drive them to considering how successful their current lifestyle is. In fact, it's doubtful anything less than a global disaster could force any marine mammal back onto land. They're just too successful in the bountiful sea. Neptune smiles on them, discriminating bastard.

EDIT: Obviously seals, walruses, and such could easily go back to land. But again, why would they?
Edited by Ànraich, Feb 11 2011, 11:40 PM.
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"The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming

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urufumarukai
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A warming climate opening up more land, making swamps like above? I dunno.
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Zoroaster
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thinking about what Parasky's said - I'd agree - possible remotely - plausible no...

Australia once had freshwater dolphins, and Australia's megafauna predators were pretty thin on the ground - but no dolphin or fur seal ever climbed out of the water to take on a terrestrial niche here...
Edited by Zoroaster, Feb 12 2011, 09:54 AM.
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Carlos
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I think a small cetacean may develop a beach basking habit like a seal, but that is as far as cetaceans will make it out of the water.
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

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Adman
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Totally not lamna
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I think porpises could make it back onto land first as seal like animals, then they could turn into earthworm like creatures, burrowing in the damp ground in rainforests. As for seals, they could make it back to land. Sirineans, maybe.
Projects and concepts that I have stewing around
Extended Pleistocene- An alternate future where man died out, and the megafauna would continue to thrive (may or may not include a bit about certain future sapients)
Inverted World- An alternate timeline where an asteroid hit during the Barremian, causing an extinction event before the Maastrichtian. Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and notosuchians make it to the present, along with a host of other animals.
Badania- Alien planet that has life at a devonian stage of development, except it exists in the present day.
Ido- Alien world where hoppers (derived flightless ballonts) and mouthpart-legged beasts are prevalent.
Leto- Life on a moon orbiting a gas giant with an erratic orbit; experiences extremes of hot and cold.
The Park- ???
Deeper Impact- a world where the K-Pg extinction wipes out crocodilians, mammals, and birds; squamates, choristoderes, and turtles inherit the earth.
World of Equal Opportunity- alternate history where denisovans come across Beringia and interact with native fauna. Much of the Pleistocene fauna survives, and the modern humans that end up crossing into North America do not overhunt the existing animals. 10,000 years later, civilizations exist that are on par with European and Asian societies.
The Ditch- Nothing is what if seems..
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Carlos
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Magoo
Feb 12 2011, 09:53 AM
thinking about what Parasky's said - I'd agree - possible remotely - plausible no...

Australia once had freshwater dolphins, and Australia's megafauna predators were pretty thin on the ground - but no dolphin or fur seal ever climbed out of the water to take on a terrestrial niche here...
I am now curious; could you indicate me the source that claims the existence of ancient australian freshwater dolphins?
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

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Rick Raptor
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Never heard of that either. But what about the freshwater dolphins in the Amazonian river (I think there are also some in the Ganges river in India)?
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Carlos
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As far as I know there are four/five species: the amazonian one (Boto), the La Plata river one (aka Franciscana), the Ganges/Indus species (that are most likely independent species) and the now extinct Baiji. Their exact relationship to each other than to other cetaceans hasn't been well figured out, but it seems they they evolved independently (either from a cosmopolitian Franciscana like species or from different ancestors) and are not related to Delphinidae.

River dolphins do show some unique adaptations to their habitat, like more flexible spines and necks, but they are nowhere near getting terrestrial.
Lemuria:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/5724950/

Terra Alternativa:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/forum/460637/

My Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/Carliro

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