Puijila: A Prehistoric Walking Seal Home Page

Text: The Fossil & The Breakthrough. Photo: Scheuchzer's cotton-grass (Eriophorum scheuchzeri).

Text: In the Field. Photo: Scheuchzer's cotton-grass (Eriophorum scheuchzeri).

Text: About the Animal. Photo: Scheuchzer's cotton-grass (Eriophorum scheuchzeri).

Text: Photo Gallery. Photo: Scheuchzer's cotton-grass (Eriophorum scheuchzeri).

Text: The Project. Photo: Scheuchzer's cotton-grass (Eriophorum scheuchzeri).

Text: News & Events. Photo: Scheuchzer's cotton-grass (Eriophorum scheuchzeri).

Natalia Rybczynski and Mary Dawson look at fossil material in the field.

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The evolutionary story of seals is rewritten by a new fossil from Canada's High Arctic.

This prehistoric animal represents a "missing link"—a branch on an evolutionary tree—between an ancestor that walked on land and today's sea-going seals and their relatives.

Image 1) Puijila darwini fossil, collection number NUFV405.

Puijila darwini, in fossil form.

The findings are an important scientific breakthrough—and the fossil's discovery is a tale of luck and adventure.

So, dive in and meet the "walking seal" Puijila darwini!

An illustration depicting the animal Puijila darwini swimming.

Puijila darwini may have looked like this.

News & Events Highlights

Overview video: Watch this short documentary for a summary of what lead researcher Natalia Rybczynski is learning from the Puijila darwini fossil.
Nature (April 23, 2009): Purchase a copy of the scientific paper from the journal.

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