Editing Basilosaurus (section)

=== Hind limbs ===
[[File:Basilosaurus isis hindlimb.JPG|thumb|right|upright|''B. isis'' hind limb]]
A {{Convert|16|m|ft|adj=mid|sp=us}} individual of ''B. isis'' had {{Convert|35|cm|in|adj=mid|-long|sp=us}} hind limbs with fused tarsals and only three digits. The limited size of the limb and the absence of an articulation with the sacral vertebrae make a locomotory function unlikely.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Bejder | first1 = Lars | last2 = Hall | first2 = Brian K. | author2-link = Brian K. Hall | title = Limbs in whales and limblessness in other vertebrates: mechanisms of evolutionary and developmental transformation and loss | year = 2002 | journal = Evolution and Development | volume = 4 | issue = 6 | pages = 445–458 | url = http://whitelab.biology.dal.ca/lb/Bejder%20and%20Hall.pdf | doi = 10.1046/j.1525-142x.2002.02033.x | pmid = 12492145 | s2cid = 8448387 | access-date = 1 October 2005 | archive-date = 10 April 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210410222928/http://whitelab.biology.dal.ca/lb/Bejder%20and%20Hall.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> Analysis has shown that the reduced limbs could rapidly adduct between only two positions.<ref name="pmid-17836967">{{cite journal |title=Hind limbs of eocene basilosaurus: evidence of feet in whales. |journal=Science |volume=249 |issue=4965 |pages=154–157 |pmid=17836967 |bibcode=1990Sci...249..154G |last1=Gingerich |first1=Philip D. |last2=Smith |first2=B. Holly|author2-link=B. Holly Smith |last3=Simons |first3=Elwyn L. |s2cid=35307146 |year=1990 |doi=10.1126/science.249.4965.154 }}</ref> Possible uses for the structure have been given, such as [[clasper]]-like body functions (compare to the function of [[pelvic spur]]s, the last vestiges of limbs in certain modern snakes). These limbs would have been used to guide the animals' long bodies during mating.<ref>{{cite web |title=Basilosaurid FOSSIL MAMMAL |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/basilosaurid |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>