Whales have been around for over 45 million years, but their ancestors were actually land dwellers.
Several species of whale went extinct at the end of the Miocene period for unknown reasons, however, the global drying and cooling event of the Late Miocene was a likely cause: the sea levels fell, ice quickly accumulated near the poles, rainforests declined and rainfall lessened.
Whales use their acute sense of hearing to maneuver the oceans. Their ears are specially adapted for hearing underwater. They have no external ear opening, but instead use skull vibrations to transmit sounds to the ear complex. Fossil whale ear bones are surprisingly common to find partly because they were made of a denser bone than the rest of the whale skeleton.
Type: Whale Ear Bone Age: Miocene (15 million years ago) Locality: Florida
