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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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Fossil of 'Missing Link' Walking Seal Found

Arctic creature's existence was predicted by Charles Darwin

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(Newser) – The fossil of a semi-aquatic creature unearthed in northern Canada may hold the key to how seals and walruses evolved, the BBC reports. The carnivore—which resembles a cross between an otter and a seal—had feet that were webbed but weren't flippers. Scientists believe the animals walked on land and swam in fresh water.

The find fills a crucial gap in the fossil record "when terrestrial carnivores traded limbs for fins and moved from land to sea," said one biology professor. The animal has been named Pujilla darwini. The label is based on an Inuit word for sea mammal and is a nod to Charles Darwin, who believed that land mammals likely evolved into ocean-going marine mammals via an intermediate stage in fresh water.

An artist's rendering shows what scientists believe the Puijila darwini would have looked like in its habitat. A fossil of the otter-like animal was found on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic.
An artist's rendering shows what scientists believe the Puijila darwini would have looked like in its habitat. A fossil of the otter-like animal was found on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic.   (AP Photo/Canadian Museum of Nature, Mark A. Klingler)
An artist's rendering shows a line drawing of the skeleton and outline of the Puijila darwini, an otter-like fossil that was found on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic.
An artist's rendering shows a line drawing of the skeleton and outline of the Puijila darwini, an otter-like fossil that was found on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic.   (AP Photo/Canadian Museum of Nature, Mark A. Klingler)
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This animal was likely adept at both swimming and walking on land. Pujilla is the evolutionary evidence we have been lacking for so long.
- Mary Dawson from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh

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6 comments
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MarkmBha
Apr 23, 09 3:06 AM CDT
Being from Canada and interested in this subject, I find this article well wirtten. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
AS1280
Apr 23, 09 9:18 PM CDT
I second that :)
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riffran
Apr 23, 09 4:47 AM CDT
but did they taste like chicken?....rofl....but yes it is neat how they can extrapolate possibilities of behavior from so little evidence........and be reasonably accurate Reply
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SPH
Apr 23, 09 12:02 PM CDT
The BBC article places the time frame at 23 million years ago and the Devon islands are at approximately 75 degrees north, inside the Arctic circle.... Reply
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Snowleopard
Apr 23, 09 3:01 PM CDT
looks like an otter Reply
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