Archivo: Narwalschaedel

Description: Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) skull with two tusks, as seen in the Zoological Museum in Hamburg, Germany; photographed in September of 2004 by Sönke Behrends. The picture was taken in the Zoological Museum in Hamburg. The object is behind protective glas, which causes some reflections. Flash was switched off for that matter. The worst reflections were edited. The skull was brought to Hamburg in 1684, and provably originates from a female animal. The German description provided by the museum translates to: “The right tooth can also grow into a tusk in very rare cases, as proven by 12 skulls collected by various museums during the past 300 years. These skulls show, that the second tooth can be developed to a very different degree, and even -- unexpectedly -- the spiralling direction of growth is towards the left and not towards the right mirroring the other half. All these skulls with two tusks originate from male animals; however, the skull in Hamburg is provably that of a female. It is thus unique.”
Title: Narwalschaedel
Credit: Own work
Author: soebe
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Attribution Required?: Yes