Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 134, February 2016, pp. 1-44. | Page 2

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Wadi El-Hitan (Arabic: ‫وادي الحيتان‬‎ "Whales Valley") is a paleontological site in
,
the Al-Fayyum Governorate of Egypt, some 150 km southwest of Cairo. It was
designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2005 for its hundreds of
fossils of some of the earliest forms of whale, the archaeoceti (a now extinct suborder of whales). The site reveals evidence for the explanation of one of the
greatest mysteries of the evolution of whales: the emergence of the whale as an
ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. No other place
in the world yields the number, concentration and quality of such fossils, as is
their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape. This is
why it was added by the UNESCO to the list of protected World Heritage sites
(Wikipedia).
The fossils found at the site may not be the oldest but their great concentration in
the area and the degree of their preservation is to the extent that even some
stomach contents are intact. The presence of fossils of other early animals such as
sharks, crocodiles, sawfish, turtles and rays found at Wadi El-Hitan makes it
possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological conditions
of the time, adding to its justification to be cited as a Heritage site (Wikipedia).

Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher Khalaf-von Jaffa studying a Basilosaurus isis
Whale Fossil at Wadi El-Hitan (Whales Valley), Al-Fayyum, Al-Sahraa Al-Gharbiah
(Western Desert), Egypt. Photo: Ola Mostafa Khalaf. 11.07.2012.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/7566373662/
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 134 – February 2016