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Eubalaena glacialis (Muller, 1776)

J. G. Mead

504343 Eubalaena glacialis 760 cm male - JGM 165 15 April 1976 Photo roll numbers in Boston: Number Film Loaded Unloaded Camera JM 532 PXP 220 ? ? Hasselblad 24 JM 534 KII 135/36 15 IV ? Rollei JM 535 KII 135/36 15 IV ? Nikonos JM 536 VPS 120 15 IV ? Hasselblad 16 JM 512 ? ? ? Hasselblad 12 15 April 1976 Received a call from Lou Garibaldi ca. 16:00 hrs, that there was a right whale, estimated 30', fresh, on the beach at Wellfleet, Mass., and that they were going out at 06:00 the next day. Caught Delta t Boston arriving at 21:20. Picked up by John Clark and went out to Ashland. Much confusion as Skinder was in Andover. 16 April 1976 Up at 05:00, John took me into the aquarium, but decided not to go himself. CMS finally showed up along with Lou, Sal, Jack, John (from education department), Patty and myself. We loaded into the aquarium van and set off. Arrived at Wellfleet ca. 09:00. Whale was about ¼ of a mile west of where the road stops at Duck Harbor. Was a 760 cm male Eubalaena glacialis (JGM 165 – USNM 504343), in a moderately advanced stage of decomposition. Opened it up and didn't find much due to decomposition. NEA crrew work on guts, while I worked over the head. Was no white on the epidermal excressences (bonnet). Most of the cyamids had jumped ship, though a few live ones were left. Got down to the earbones, but things were pretty mushy – the glove finger was very thin and flaccid, but the meatus was large and had traces of what might have been a wax plug. No good cause of death, but what looked like heavy ante-mortem bruising in the dorsal surface of the thorax, just posterior to the head, may indicate a collision with a vessel – no bone breakage was seen. More or less cut it up into pieces and left it for NMFS and park service to flense. Departed ~ 14;00 for NEA.

Date

15 Apr 1976

Medium

760 cm

Department

NMNHMAMMALS

Institution

NMNH - Vertebrate Zoology - Mammals Division

Object number

nmnhvz_7510127