Ancient Whale's Misadventure Tells Scientists How Bipedal Primates Came to Be

Researchers have an ancient whale which swam upstream to thank, for revealing the date of an important event in human evolution,

According to IB Times, a beaked whale fossil that was rediscovered in 2011, helped researchers date when East African Plateau began rising. The rise of the plateau is seen as an important event as it is associated with emergence of sparse grasslands, creating an environment conducive for evolution of bipedal primates. The whale fossil and the lava it was found buried under were dated 17 million years old, which now is the official date for Eastern African Plateau's rise.

"The whale was stranded up river at a time when east Africa was at sea level and was covered with forest and jungle. As that part of the continent rose up, that caused the climate to become drier and drier. So over millions of years, forest gave way to grasslands. Primates evolved to adapt to grasslands and dry country. And that's when - in human evolution - the primates started to walk upright," said Louis L. Jacobs of Southern Methodist University, Dallas.

Elaborating the study, LA Times reported that the fossil was found at an elevation of 2,000 meters over modern sea level, an elevation that is considered impossible for deep sea mammals to swim. The elevation of fossil site should thus have been much lower than its present day elevation.

Based on understanding of sea levels and the geography of African Coast at that time, researchers estimate that the whale could have swum 372 to 559 miles from the Indian Ocean. This corresponded to an elevation of 78 to 121 feet. Ever since then, the plateau must have risen 1,935 feet to reach its present day elevation reporters concluded.

Transformation of dense humid forests into grasslands after the rise could have forced primates to survive by adapting to walk long distances on two feet. The dating of plateau's rise is expected to have consequences for human evolution studies.