#cetology

[arminreindl]

Today, while researching a recently described fossil whale from Peru, I learned that we have fossil remains of a 6 meter long beaked whale from freshwater deposits of Turkana, Kenya, some 600 kilometers from shore.

On the one hand that is absolutely mindblowing, given that modern beaked whales are generally open ocean deep divers (tho their ancestors may have been more like dolphins back in the day), to see one that made it this far inland is incredible.

Now cool as the idea of a freshwater beaked whale of that size (or any size really) would be, as the author points out its probably more likely that it swam so far on accident and that this was not its usual habitat.

This wouldn't be without precedent, as there are examples of modern baleen whales randomly popping up far inland even today, like a 5.5 meter long Minke whale being found 1000 km into Amazon in 2007 and another, 4 meter long, Minke whale being discovered 150 km up the Thames in London as recently as 2021.

repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/2649/1975c-file.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

[appendingfic]

Can't believe people are siding with Ishmael-haters when "smooth sharks" and "it's a dog because fluffye" are such popular posts here

[averysmallcetacean]

science is trending yayayay!!!!

science is awesome

space is awesome

the ocean is awesome

whales are awesome

they're so cool

cetology is awesome

fun fact: bowheads can live for 200 years possibly even longer, we know this cause there are individuals who are still alive with harpoon remnants embedded in them that can be dated to 200 years ago!!!!

btw I can remember if I have mentioned this but a couple of months ago I saw SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALES, my favourite species!!!!! I SAW 2 GREY MORPHS, TOGETHER, AAAAAAAAAA, It was the best day of the year and I was there BY CHANCE

IT WAS AMAZING

[fremedon]

I spent all of today's Whale Weekly chapter thinking about how much Ishmael would have loved modern cladistics:

"In his System of Nature, A.D. 1776, Linnaeus declares, “I hereby separate the whales from the fish.” But of my own knowledge, I know that in the present year, the best authorities maintain that not only is the whale a fish, but so is every tetrapod creature--aye, even those who are accounted tetrapods only by courtesy, right down to the man, the ostrich, and the kangaroo. A whale is not a fish, says Linnaeus, on the basis of all the features described, the warm blood, the chambered heart, and so on. Modern cladistics cannot fault his description; it does not argue with Linnaeus that the whale is not a fish--no, it agrees with him. The whale is not a fish, says this chemical arborist, the pruner of genomes, for the incontrovertible fact that fish do not exist.

But this statement flies in the face of all reason. I have seen fish myself, once or twice, in their natural habitats, and I cannot consign them to descriptive oblivion. I will maintain the definition put forth above: the whale is a spouting fish with a horizontal tail; and the cod and the alewife are non-spouting fish with vertical tails; and the toucan is a feathered fish with a prodigious bill; and Napoleon, Mahomet, and Jesus Christ himself were nothing more than bipedal fish, with whatever admixture of the divine science and religion grant to them! The whale is a fish, and so am I, and so are you--for if we are not fish, then nothing is."

[saltwife]

facts are facts (sort of)

[whale-osha-violations]

Chapter 32: Cetology

Number of regulations violated: 0

This is a notable infodump about whale classifications. While I am by no means an expert in marine or evolutionary biology, it is hard not to at least be frustrated at Ishmael’s insistence on calling whales ‘fish’. From my personal, modern point of view, I wish I could explain DNA sequence classification to Ishmael as a much more precise and objective taxonomic method. Getting back to the actual objective, none of these descriptions include any explicit danger, and there are no violations here! 

That's all for now, and

Stay safe sailors!

[xerox-candybar]

“Be it known that, waiving all argument, I take the good old fashioned ground that a whale is a fish, and call upon holy Jonah to back me.”

Every time I see Herman Melville refer to whales this way, I hear a little “Janet From The Good Place” voice in my head, politely correcting Jason: “not a girl fish”

[muffinsandpages]

I'm finally caught up with Whale Weekly and by caught up I mean I completely skipped chapter 32. And I'm not ashamed

[jaewul]

Hilarious that in cetology Ishmael decided to let the part about whales' penises and lactation in latin

Like if you want to read about whales' reproductive organs, well I hope for you you studied your classics

[dodger-chan]

New favorite quote:

God keep me from ever completing anything.

The best part of a larger, fantastic quote

But I now leave my cetological System standing thus unfinished, even as the great Cathedral of Cologne was left, with the crane still standing upon the top of the uncompleted tower. For small erections may be finished by their first architects; grand ones, true ones, ever leave the copestone to posterity. God keep me from ever completing anything. This whole book is but a draught—nay, but the draught of a draught. Oh, Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

[ghostlykidwizard]

Yes, Ishmael, please tell us more about these huge erections and gay foam that you've witnessed, and how these architects have helped them finish and make white water

[ulfrsmal]

just learnt Long-John was another name for a fin whale and now I have incoherent ideas about long john silver allegories

[telethrutime]

Do whales have an equivalent sound to a human laugh? I figure they can’t make laugh noises like people but I want to know if they have a joy noise

[woundedwizard]

Exception might be taken to the name bestowed upon this whale, on the ground of its indistinctness. For we are all killers, on land and on sea; Bonapartes and Sharks included.

...okayy

[saltwife]

glad we cleared that up

[mybuddyjimmy]

Cetology

Cetology [see-TA-lə-gee] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, 19th century 1. The branch of zoology that deals with whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Examples of cetology in a sentence “The marine biologist was specifically an expert in cetology.” “Captain Ahab was obsessed with cetology after his years of pursuing the white whale.” #wordoftheday