The Skull of a Minke Whale 'Balaenoptera Acutorostrata' (1800 to 1900 United Kingdom)

Skull of a Minke Whale 'Balaenoptera Acutorostrata'

53.50cm wide    91.50cm high    (21.06 inches wide  36.02 inches high)

Provenance : Ex collection Sir Henry Gore Booth ; sale of the contents of Lissadell House . H.O.K. 2003

Instead of teeth the baleen whale has 130 to 400 horny 'baleen' plates on each side of the upper jaw , the inner edge of each one having bristles that are used to filter and sieve food from the sea .
The Minke is the smallest of the rorqual whales with a dolphin like shaped sharp snout and pointed head with small baleen plates . Found in a variety of waters worldwide it is a speedy agile swimmer able to 'surf' huge ocean breakers sometimes making an occasional surface lunge .
It feeds alone by gulping in tight knit swarms of krill or fish and is mostly seen near ice sheets , fjords , coasts and estuaries . It is not shy and will often approach stationary boats .

The Skull of a Minke Whale ‘Balaenoptera Acutorostrata’
19 th Century

Size : 91.5 cm long , 48 cm high ,53.5 cm wide – 36 ins long , 19 ins high , 21 ins wide