The desmostilios, horses of the sea

2013-10-08 13:00:16

Between 30 and 7 million years ago, enigmatic aquatic mammals called desmostilios lived on the coasts of the North Pacific. The first fossil remains of desmostilians, teeth and vertebrae discovered in marine deposits in Alameda County, California, were described by American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh in 1888. Desmostilians are large amphibian quadrupeds with thick legs and short tails. They reach more than two meters in length and two hundred kilos in weight.