1. A Wasted Dig 1
Fossils and War 1
A Whale Ear 4
2. Fish, Mammal, or Dinosaur? 9
The King Lizard of Cape Cod 9
Basilosaurid Whales' 17
Basilosaurids and Evolution 33
3. A Whale with Legs 35
The Black and White Hills 35
A Walking Whale 41
4. Learning to Swim 51
Meeting the Killer Whale 51
From Dog-Paddle to Torpedo 52
Amhulocetid Whales' 58
Amhulocetus and Evolution 65
5. When the Mountains Grew 67
The High Himalayas 67
Kidnapping in the Hills 75
Indian Whales 78
6. Passage to India 79
Stranded in Delhi 79
Whales in the Desert 85
A 150-Found Skull 87
7. A Trip to the Beach 93
The Outer Banks 93
A Fossilized Coast 96
8. The Otter Whale 99
The Whale with No Hands 99
Remingtonocetid Whales 109
Building a Beast out of Bones 116
9. The Ocean Is a Desert 117
Forensic Paleontology 117
Drinking and Peeing 120
Fossilized Drinking Behavior 121
Walking with Ambulocetus 124
10. The Skeleton Puzzle 127
If Looks Could Kill 127
How Many Bones Make a Skeleton? 129
Finding Whales' Sisters 132
11. The River Whales 137
Hearing in Whales 137
Pakicetid Whales 144
September 11, 2001 154
12. Whales Conquer the World 157
A Molecular SINE 157
The Black Whale 160
Protocetid Whales 163
Protocetids and History 171
13. From Embryos to Evolution 173
A Dolphin with Legs 173
The Marine Park at Taiji 175
Shedding Limbs 177
Whaling in Taiji 187
14. Before Whales 191
The Widow's Fossils 191
The Ancestors of Whales 198
Indohyus 199
A Trust for Fossils 206
15. The Way Forward 207
The Big Question 207
Tooth Development 209
Baleen as Teeth 211
Notes 213
Index 233