Chapter 10 - Postcranial skeleton and musculature

Title

Chapter 10 - Postcranial skeleton and musculature

Creator

Thewissen JGM; Hillmann DJ; George JC; Tarpley RJ; Sheffield Gay; Stimmelmayr R; Suydam RS

Publisher

The Bowhead Whale

Date

2021
2021-01-01

Description

The postcranial skeleton of bowhead whales was described in detail more than 100 years ago. The musculature of bowheads has not been studied in detail but matches that of other mysticetes in general features. In this chapter, we focus on some aspects of the skeleton that differs from that of other cetaceans. First, the skeleton of bowheads changes with ontogenetic age. Some of these changes are gross-morphologically, while others are biochemical and histological. Several are related to the life history of the species. Our discussion focuses on the changes in the morphology of the cervical vertebral column, the ontogenetic variation in carpals, and the variation in the hind limb. Individuals with external hind limbs occur infrequently, but there is a great variation in the size of ox coxae, femur, and tibia.

Subject

forelimb; myology; Bowhead whale; muscles; skeleton; Balaena mysticetus; hindlimb;

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

137-149

NEOMED College

NEOMED College of Medicine

NEOMED Department

Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology

Update Year & Number

January 2021 List

Citation

Thewissen JGM; Hillmann DJ; George JC; Tarpley RJ; Sheffield Gay; Stimmelmayr R; Suydam RS, “Chapter 10 - Postcranial skeleton and musculature,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed March 19, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/11543.