THE MANDIBLE OF BOWHEAD IN KATHMANDUMASAHAR U NISHIWAKI
National Science Museum, TokyoABSTRACT

The huge mandibular bones which I unexpectedly found at NationalMuseum of Nepal, Kathmandu, was compared with a mandibular specimenof the bow head whale in Taiji Whale Museum and those of the Pacific rightwhales in Tokyo University of Fisheries and National Science Museum, Tokyo.
It was cleared that the owner of the huge bones was a Balaena mysticetus, andfrom their size, the whale must have been about 16 m in body length. It isstill a matter of investigation that when and how they came up to Kathmandu.
INTRODUCTION

It was quite unexpeced encounter of myself with huge mandibular bones of whale
at a dark corridor of the National Museum of Nepal, Kathmandu, in my second
visit to the city in July 1974 on the wayback from USSR. As I had been toKathmandu in the investigation on the Ganges river dolphin in Pakistan (nowBangradesh) in times between 1970 and 1974, trying to know if distribution of
the dolphin was extended to the upper Ganges in Himalayan out-skirts, but had
least imagined that such a thing was in the museum.
Instantly after I saw the bones, I tried to inquire about them and asked totake photographs, but there was only an attendant of the museum who did not
speak English, and he only shook his head. Unfortunately it was Sunday and I
had no time to stay for another inquiry.
Since then, I tried to make contact with the museum to get permission forinvestigation and photograph on them. My asking had been in vain for a few
years, but through introduction of many kind people, permission came from Dr.
R. J. Thapa, Director General of the Department of Archaeology, Kathmandu,Nepal, in 1979. With great expectation, I visited Kathmandu again on my way
to west Africa in Jan. 1980. As shown in Fig. 1, photographs of the bones weretaken by having them taken out to the hall from the dark corridor. Measurements
were also taken.
INVESTIGATION AND DISCUSSION

The mandible was a pair of bulky bones of about five meter in length. Speciesof whales who have such a big mandible, are the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus),
the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), the right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and thebowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). As I saw the indistinct coronid processes ofSci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst.,
No. 34, 1982, 49-57

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Eubalaena glacialis------·-----

National ScienceMuseum, Tokyo

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Eubalaena glacialis-----Tokyo Universityof Fisheries

5.0%100.0

Balaena mysticetus

Taiji WhaleMuseum

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Natiomal Museumof Nepal, Kathmandu

MANDIBLE MEASUREMENT OF THE KATHMANDU SPECIMEN COMPAREDWITH OTHER KNOWN SPECIMENS. (in cm)

Body length of whale
Straight length of mandible
between tip and condyle
Curved length of mandible
along mid-dorsal surface
Height of mandibleat point! 1(19.5% of curved
length from the tip)
at point 2 (39.0% of curved
length from the tip)
at point 3 (58.5% of curved
length from the tip)
at coronoid process (highest)at condyle (biggest)
Length of condyle
Breadth of condyle
Girth at point 1
at point 2
at point 3
at coronoid process
Length between coronoid process
and rear end of condyle

Name of specimen
Species of whale

TABLE 1.

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TH E M
八NDIBLEOFBO W
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Fig.4. Sha
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and TUFs
pecimen,Eu‑balaenaglacialis(bottom).

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Sci.Rψ.WhalesRes.I
nst.
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λ匂.34,1982

55

56

NISHIWAKI

anterior and posterior parts show less differences in Kathmandu specimen, butsome variety in TUF specimen. In Kathmandu specimen there is a little unusualvalue, height at Point 2 is lesser than that in Point 1, which can be seen in Fig. 3in shape. In all the four specimens, the coronoid process is indistinctly developed.
In TWM specimen, the whale is presumed as the youngest of the four, (1+1/3years old), the process is recognized, but in Kathmandu speimen (presumably very old), the process is hardly recognized. The coronoid process in theKathmandu specimen must be relatively under-developed in accordance withgrowth. The coronoid processes in both Eubalaena specimen of TUF and .NSM
are, however, located 6% more posterior against the length than in Kathmandu
and TWM specimens. In the photograph of Fig. 3, both TUF and .NSM specimens have a swell at the ventral side just under the coronoid process. The feature
can not be perceived in the Table 1. While, the swell is less distinct in Kathmandu
and TWM specimens. The shapes of the anterior-most of the three specimens arecompared in Fig. 4. The anterior tip of Kathmandu specimen might have worna little, but the shape resembles well TWM specimen. After those comparisonin shape and mesaurement values, it may be safe to say that the Kathmandu specimen is a pair of mandibles of a bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus ).
Estimation of body length from a mandible is not so difficult. The young
individual of TWM specimen was 640 cm in body length, and the mandibular
bones are 184 cm (right) and 185 cm (left) respectively, and the head portion ofthis species of whale becomes bigger proportionally and reach l /3 of the bodylength in adult animals. This is not a presumption at this moment, but thisphenomenal tendency is generally known among whalers and scientists. Then, if
30-33% is the adult head length rate against the total length, the whale, ownerof Kathmandu mandible (419 cm), must have been more or less 16 m in bodylength. Although Eskimo people might have some huge specimens, this Kathmandu mandibular bones is one of the biggest specimens of B. mysticetus known
among museums at present.
PROCESS TO KATHMANDUAs I have studied and discussed the huge mandibular bones in the National
Museum of Nepal, Kathmandu, and presumed the species of it as the bowhead whale(Balaena mysticetus) and the body length as about 16 m, though sex can not beidentified. It may be natural to wonder, from where and how the bulky heavybones were transported to such a long distant and high place of Kathmandu.
If it was in an old time, transportation might have been without machinary.
Inquiry was made to many people in the museum and those who kindly opened aroad to this investigation, but nobody knew the process of delivery or history of
the specimen. Only Dr. Badri Prasad Shrestha, Ambassador of Napel to Japan,
presumed that the mandible bones were thought to be there since about 100 years
before. Many royal people of Nepal Kingdom have studied in England since oldtimes. Presumably, one of those royal people might have seen the bones at theSci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst.,
No. 34, 1982

THE MANDIBLE OF BOWHEAD IN KATHMANDU

57

British Museum (Natural History) or somewhere else, and wanted to have it andwas transported to Kathmandu as a present. His story is one of the presumptions,and I asked the National Museum of Nepal to investigate the process.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I should like to extend my sincere gratitude to Mrs. Sushuma Omata, Nepal
princess in Japan, and Dr. Badri Prasad Shrestha, Ambassador of Nepal to Japan,
who helped me in contact to the National Museum of Nepal, and Dr. R.J. Thapa,
Director General of the Department of Archaeology who gave me permission tostudy on the mandibular bones through Mr. J. L. Sharma of the same Department,and Mr. J. K. Shrestha of National Msueum of Nepal who helped my investigationin the museum. My gratitudes are also to Mr. M. Kumazawa of the Museum ofTokyo University of Fisheries, Mr. Masami Shoji of Taiji Whale Museum andMrs. Haruka Ito, postgraduate student of the Department of Fisheries, Universityof Tokyo, for their good assistance in taking measurements and photographs ofthe comparable specimens at home. At the end, I cannot omit Dr. Hiroo Kanaiof the National Science Museum, Tokyo, who made effort to have me contact
with the National Museum of Nepal.
REFERENCESOMURA, H., 1958. North Pacific right whale. Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst., 13: 1-52.
OMURA, H., S. 01-ISUMI, T. NEMOTO, K. NAsu and T. KASUYA., 1969. Black right whales in the North
Pacific. Sci. RejJ. l'l'hales Res. Inst., 21: 1-78.
OMURA, H., M. NISHIWAKI and T. KAsUYA., 1971. Further studies on the two skeletons of the black rightwhale in the North Pacific. Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst., 23: 71-81.
N1smwAKI, M. and T. KASUYA., 1970. A Greenland right whale caught at Osaka Bay. Sci. Rep. Whales

Res. Inst., 22: 45-62.

Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst.,
No. 34. 1982