Balaenoptera borealis (sei whale) - MH-07-473

Abstract

Balaenoptera borealis (sei whale) - MH-07-473 - female - 14.40 m - Pelvic location - Harvard University The carcass of a 47.2-foot (1440 cm) female was found floating on 30 May and washed ashore in Lobster Cove, Manchester by-the-sea on 4 June. The entire skeleton was salvaged the following day. During the necropsy it was found to have been struck by a ship. The stomach contained food. There was severe bruising, 8 consecutive vertebrae beginning about lumbar #2 were fractured and most of the ribs on the left side were broken. The radius and ulna were both broken on both sides. The bones of the left flipper were still present, but those of the right flipper beyond the break were missing and the ends of the radius and ulna were ground smooth by rocks. The skull and jaws were undamaged, and the bulla remained with the skull. All of the left baleen rack was saved in 5 pieces, and the anterior quarter and posterior third of the right rack were saved. The central portion of the right rack had been crudely cut out by someone during the previous night.