Artwork by Karen Carr
These marine tetrapods represent a diverse group of living and extinct species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds that all play—or played—a critical role as large ocean predators in marine ecosystems. In April 2015, a team of Smithsonian scientists synthesized decades of scientific discoveries to illuminate the common and unique patterns driving the extraordinary transitions that whales, dolphins, seals and other species underwent as they moved from land to sea, offering a comprehensive look at how life in the ocean has responded to environmental change from the Triassic to the Anthropocene. (Artwork by Karen Carr)
