Whale collections
Dear Chuck,
You may want to add this tale to the docent blog.
Last Thursday I brought in a whale vertebrae that my adult son had found while running on the beach in Long Beach. He and my husband determined that it was a vertebrae, probably lumbar, and my son wanted to know which whale it might be from. He thought the docents might like it for a cart once it was identified. Dr. Barnes looked at it and surprised me by saying it was from a fin whale or larger whale, that it was a lumbar vertebrae, and that it was "prehistoric," at least 1,000 years old. At that moment I had an "Antique Roadshow Moment," totally surprised. Dr. Barnes saw fossilization in the bone. We took it to Jim Dines to determine if it was entirely fossilized, testing it with fire. The answer was that it was not and so the 12 to 14 pound vertebrae now resides in the Mammalian collection as a reference item. My son was happy to donate it and I am pleased to have been the conduit.
I have sent you the two photos below that I took of the vertebrae.
Sandy
You may want to add this tale to the docent blog.
Last Thursday I brought in a whale vertebrae that my adult son had found while running on the beach in Long Beach. He and my husband determined that it was a vertebrae, probably lumbar, and my son wanted to know which whale it might be from. He thought the docents might like it for a cart once it was identified. Dr. Barnes looked at it and surprised me by saying it was from a fin whale or larger whale, that it was a lumbar vertebrae, and that it was "prehistoric," at least 1,000 years old. At that moment I had an "Antique Roadshow Moment," totally surprised. Dr. Barnes saw fossilization in the bone. We took it to Jim Dines to determine if it was entirely fossilized, testing it with fire. The answer was that it was not and so the 12 to 14 pound vertebrae now resides in the Mammalian collection as a reference item. My son was happy to donate it and I am pleased to have been the conduit.
I have sent you the two photos below that I took of the vertebrae.
Sandy
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