THE MORE YOU KNOW

Dolphins cannot walk the Earth. They are fully aquatic mammals and have evolved over millions of years to live exclusively in water. While dolphins are descended from land-dwelling mammals, their limbs have transformed into flippers, and they no longer have the skeletal structure or muscles needed for walking on land.

That said, fossil evidence shows that dolphin ancestors once had legs and walked on land — animals like Pakicetus from around 50 million years ago. But modern dolphins can't survive outside water for long due to their weight, skin, and need for buoyancy.

Curious about how dolphins evolved from land animals?