Fossils suggest how whales found their swimming style

New species discovery could offer insights into how they came to move using tails

It sounds like a Rudyard Kipling story but fossil-hunters say they have new clues as to how the whale came to move.

Whales as we know them today evolved over millions of years from terrestrial creatures to semi-aquatic animals to fully aquatic species, with forelimbs becoming flippers, the fluked tail developing and well-developed hind legs - once used for swimming - lost over time.