How did whales end up in a desert? Egypt’s 40-million-year-old ‘Valley of the Whales’ reveals the answer

Wadi Al-Hitan, or "Valley of the Whales," in Egypt's Fayoum region exposes fossilised whale skeletons in the desert.

“In the heart of the Egyptian Desert, Wadi Al-Hitan, or “Valley of the Whales,” fossilised whale skeletons lie exposed beneath the sun”

The Times of India

Vertebrae stretch across the sand and hundreds of marine fossils date to about 40 million years ago.

The Times of India

The article reports that what is now dry desert was once a shallow sea.

Some ancient whale species preserved there retained small but distinct hind limbs, and their anatomy documents a gradual transformation from land mammals to fully marine whales.

Around 40 million years ago, during the Eocene epoch, northern Africa lay beneath the ancient Tethys Sea.

Dead marine animals settled on the seabed and were buried by sediments.

The Times of India

The piece cites a major study, "U-M team recovers ancient whale in Egyptian desert," published by the Geological Society.

Researchers from the University of Michigan and the Egyptian Geological Museum recovered skeletons of early whales such as Basilosaurus and Dorudon.

These finds helped scientists understand whale evolution.

In 2005 researchers discovered a nearly complete Basilosaurus isis skeleton reaching up to 18 metres in length.

“In the heart of the Egyptian Desert, Wadi Al-Hitan, or “Valley of the Whales,” fossilised whale skeletons lie exposed beneath the sun”

The Times of India

The skeleton matched some modern whales in size but differed markedly in build and inferred behaviour with a long, thin, nearly serpentine body.

The animal had sharp teeth suggesting active predation rather than filter-feeding, and skull features indicating forward-facing eyes and sophisticated hearing.

Wadi Al-Hitan was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List and functions as an active palaeontological research site and open-air museum.

The site lies within the strictly protected Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area.

Ongoing expeditions at Wadi Al-Hitan continue to uncover additional skeletal fragments, marine reptiles and microfossils.

The article says these discoveries have shifted scientific attention toward the African fossil record and expanded understanding of early whale evolution.