Functional Morphology of the Mouth of the Bowhead Whale and Its Implications for Conservation

• Published in: Journal of Mammalogy
• Main Authors: Lambertsen, Richard H., Rasmussen, Kerry J., Lancaster, Winston C., Hintz, Raymond J.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 2005
• Subjects: Feature Articles; Recess; Balaena mysticetus; Barrow; bowhead whale; Inupiat; Alaska
• Online Access: http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/86/2/342; https://doi.org/10.1644/BER-123.1

Bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus ) hauled out on shore-fast ice by Inupiat whale hunters off Barrow, Alaska were examined. Anatomical observations confirmed the occurrence of a large, well-muscled tongue. Temporomandibular articulations were synovial. The mandibular symphysis was unfused. Standar...