OSAKA - A museum curator in Hokkaido has succeeded in reconstructing a complete whale skeleton as a three-dimensional image by integrating photographs taken during dissection, hoping the technique will reveal the correct positioning of the bones that has long been difficult to determine.
Tatsuya Shinmura of the Ashoro Museum of Paleontology published an article in the journal Marine Mammal Science in June describing his study using 3D photographic documentation to reconstruct the skeletal configuration of a beaked whale. The female whale was found stranded in Shinhidaka, also on Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, in December.
While the approximately 5.3-meter mammal was dissected, with its flesh and bones gradually removed, Shinmura took about 100 photographs at each of five stages with a single-lens reflex camera. He analyzed the images using specialized software and created a 3D image of the skeleton.
Although whale skeletal specimens are displayed in many museums, the positions and orientations of bones can vary even within the same species, according to the article. This is because whales' large size and thick skin make it impossible to examine their bones using X-rays or by touch.
Shinmura said the 3D image reconstruction technique he used could be applied to other whale species, helping reconstruct skeletons of extinct whales and advance research into their body shapes and swimming movements.
"I believe this simple method is easy for many people to try," he said.
