¶ … Cetacean Skeletons at Local Museums
Right Whale Skeleton Exhibit, Great Mammal Room, Harvard Museum of Natural History
After visiting the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, I was left in awe by the amazing displays featuring fully intact whale skeletons. Entering the museum's newly renovated Great Mammal Hall, I was immediately struck by the sheer size of the three whale skeletons hanging from the ceiling. The three species of whale found here include the Sperm whale, the Fin whale, and the Right whale; and each skeletal display offered a unique glimpse into the biological construction of nature's largest mammalian creatures. Personally, I found myself becoming increasingly fascinated with the amazing Right whale skeleton, because this was my first up-close encounter with this animal's distinctive baleen filter-feeding system. Baleen whales are one of two suborders of the Cetacean order (which consists of whales, dolphins and porpoises), with the other suborder consisting of the toothed whales or Odontoceti order. By examining the baleen mouth of the Right whale in such close proximity, I was able to see how the baleen hangs solely from the upper jaw, rather than connecting between the upper and lower jaws. The amount of lower jaw bones in the Right whale is minimal, but each bone is incredibly strong, providing sufficient structural framework from which the large, expandable baleen pouch which balloons full of sea water whenever these whales begin filter-feeding.
Another interesting aspect of the Right whale skeleton exhibit found at the Harvard Museum of Natural History was the animal's impressive tailbone, which in my mind resembled many of the skeletal tails found on dinosaur skeletal displays. Each bone which connected to another to form the Right whale's massive tail is slightly smaller than the previous bone, leading to a tapering effect in which the tailbone becomes streamlined at the tip, while remaining incredibly strong at the base. Imagining an enormous living Right whale swimming effortlessly through the ocean...
From the Right whale's distinctive baleen filter-feeding structure to its incredible tailbone, examining the skeletal display of this ancient creature from such a close vantage point enabled me to gain a greater appreciation of the flawless biological engineering effected by millennia of evolutionary adaptation.
North Atlantic Right Whale Skeleton Exhibit, New England Aquarium
Walking up a long ramp, away from the Thinking Gallery on the second floor and heading to the Rivers of the Americas Gallery on the third floor, you can't help but feel the shadow of the 35-foot North Atlantic Right whale skeleton hanging from the rafters high above. Although this display does not constitute a complete skeletal assembly, there is still much to learn from this incredible example of scientific reconstruction. I was immediately drawn to the skeleton's front flippers, which despite being fin-like in appearance on a living Right whale actually contained the bones of five distinct digits. This attribute of the Right whale served as a clear reminder that, while these animals swim under the sea for much of their lives, they are still mammals, and thus are much more closely related to myself than they are to the majority of their aquatic neighbors. This aspect of the Right whale's mammalian structure was further emphasized by walking from the front of the skeleton to the rear, where evidence of the creature's vestigial hind limbs is strikingly clear. Although these bones are tiny in comparison to the rest of the Right whale's massive skeleton, their existence offers definitive proof that whales -- or at least their ancient ancestors -- were capable of walking on land for short periods during their evolutionary infancy.
Because this North Atlantic Right whale skeleton measured only 35-feet in length, it was also apparent that this exhibit did not contain a fully grown adult specimen,…
