Maiacetus

Maiacetus ("mother whale") is a genus of early cetacean from the Eocene-aged Habib Rahi Formation of Pakistan.

==Paleobiology== thumb|left|upright=0.9|Adult female and fetal (in blue) Maiacetus thumb|left|Life restoration The genus contains a single species, Maiacetus inuus, first described in 2009 on the basis of two specimens, including a specimen which has been interpreted as a pregnant female and her fetus. This represents the first description of a fetal skeleton of an archaeocete. The position of the fetus (head-first) suggests that the animal gave birth on land. Modern whales generally give birth tail first, while land mammals give birth head first. That the Maiacetus should give birth on land is not so implausible because this whale is semiaquatic or amphibious. Maiacetus represents the transition of land mammals back to the oceans where these animals were living on the land-sea interface and going back and forth.