Chapter 9 - Anatomy of skull and mandible

Title

Chapter 9 - Anatomy of skull and mandible

Creator

Hillmann DJ; Tarpley RJ; George JC; Nader PB; Thewissen JGM

Publisher

The Bowhead Whale

Date

2021
2021-01-01

Description

The skull of the bowhead whale is composed of all the bones commonly found in mammals, although the shape of these bones is far from ordinary. Features related to feeding dominate the skull: there are no teeth, and the rostrum is long and curved, resembling a bow. The incisive and maxilla form a high arch that forms the origin of the baleen rack, and the mandibles are straight in lateral view, but deeply curved in the horizontal plane to make room for the tongue and baleen. The blowhole is located near the apex of the skull, and the boney portion of the nasal passage opens caudally into the nasopharynx ventral to the braincase. As in other baleen whales, the occipital projects rostrally, covering a portion of the parietals and frontals.

Subject

bones; whale; Bowhead whale; skull; mandible; osteology; Balaena mysticetus;

Identifier

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Format

journalArticle

Search for Full-text

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Pages

127-136

NEOMED College

NEOMED College of Medicine

NEOMED Department

Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology

Update Year & Number

January 2021 List

Citation

Hillmann DJ; Tarpley RJ; George JC; Nader PB; Thewissen JGM, “Chapter 9 - Anatomy of skull and mandible,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed March 19, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/11542.