14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers in Peru have recently stumbled upon the fossilized remains of an ancient creature which they say is best described as a walking whale.
The remains were unearthed in southern Peru, in the Ocucaje Desert. Preliminary investigations have revealed that they are some 40 million years old, Daily Mail says.
What's interesting is that, until now, such walking whale remains have only been discovered in Egypt, Pakistan, India and North America.
This means that the fossils found by paleontologists in Peru are the first of their kind to have ever been discovered in South America.
The walking whale species whose remains were found in the Ocucaje Desert belongs to a group known to the scientific community as Achaeocetes.
Specialists say that, although they lived in the water, these animals still had anatomical particularities that hinted at their terrestrial origin.
Paleontologists hope that, by analyzing these remains, they will be able to better understand how and why ancient creatures switched from living on land to living in aquatic environments, and eventually evolved into the whales that presently swim our seas and oceans.