The Whale of the National Museum of Natural History

Abstract

The Chilean National Museum of Natural History, has been exhibited for more than 100 years in its main exhibition hall a whale skeleton classified as a blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus. The whale is the museum's most important symbol. Some antecedents have suggested the possibility of a species identification error. Aware of the weighty consequence by challenging the name for a century old public incon, scientific rigor of course deserves to remain the ultimate criterium in a national museum. This is the reason why we have proceeded to critically re-evaluate the taxonomic status of this whale, using methodologies that do not require the removal of the plaster that is protecting the skull. Despite some assembly errors which obstruct a straighforward identification, from the body size and developmental degree, the shape of the maxillary bones, the graphic superposing a images with the bigger whale skulls, the ratios, skull and body proportions with other whale species, we concluded that the specimen corresponds to a young fin whale Balaenoptera physalus, that could have grown an estimated nine more meters. We believe that the re-identification of this specimen, does not have to alter the simbolism of its image for the Museum. By its body color, body shape, geographical distribution, high speed swimming, low frequency vocalizations, and behaviour, B. physalus is an enigmatic whale species in its own right.