Subject: WHALE FLIPPER BONES? (fwd)
Michael Williamson (pita@whale.simmons.edu)
Mon, 14 Oct 1996 11:41:06 -0400 (EDT)
Original message: "RE: COPY OF: WHALE FLIPPER BONES?"
From: <<leif@kudonet.com>>
Thanks for your reply,
> What you found is definitely a cetacean flipper, the question is
>what species. Assuming that you correctly counted five sets of finger
>bones, this rules out many of the baleen whales.
I meant to say that the "fingers", and actually only one of them, had five
bones, not that there were five fingers (five-boned fingers, not five boned
fingers). In fact there were only three fingers, and only one had five
bones.
> If you somehow confused the number of fingers and it was actually
>four not five, then it is very likely to be a baleen whale. A gray
>whale is the most likely candidate because grays are common in
>the region during migration. It is unlikely to be a humpback because
>the humpback (though common there) has huge flippers, and 200 cm (six
>feet) would be a very small whale. Furthermore, humpbacks have two
>very long sets of finger bones that stand out from the others.
I supposed a gray whale, since I know they are common, but your comment
about two very long bones in a humpback are suggestive, since this flipper
had one "finger that is nearly twice the length of the other two. However,
I assume that pieces are missing.
>
> So the bottom line is: don't know, but regrettably it isn't an alien
>(no, not even in California). If you send photos we might get a better
>idea; will be happy to look at them, and will of course return them
>to you. (Address: Phil Clapham, Smithsonian Institution, NHB 390
>MRC 108, Washington DC 20560).
I'll drop some pictures in the mail.
Leif
Response #1: CLAPHAM,PHIL
OK, I see. In that case it's frankly a bit more likely to be a
humpback since it sounds relatively fresh and gray whales have been
out opf the area for the several months since spring.
I'll look out for the photos.
Regards,
Phil Clapham