page_title: Charlotte whale
hierarchical_section_title: Charlotte whale
caption_attribution_description: English: The absence of the dorsal fin is reflected in the genus name of the species - apterus is the Greek for "wingless". The evolutionary preference for a dorsal ridge in favor of a fin is believed by scientists to be adaptation to under-ice conditions, or possibly as a way of preserving heat.
context_page_description: The Charlotte whale is the skeleton of a beluga whale that was found buried in sediment near Charlotte, Vermont in 1849. It is exhibited at the Perkins Museum of Geology at the University of Vermont. Found at the time when knowledge of Earth's natural history was nascent, it proved key evidence for developing a glacial theory of New England. The whale skeleton was collected by Zadock Thompson and reconstructed by Albert David Hager in an unusual, anatomically-incorrect manner. Later, that error was preserved for its historical significance. It was Vermont's official state fossil from 1993 to 2014, after which it became designated as Vermont's state marine fossil.
context_section_description: The Charlotte whale is the skeleton of a beluga whale that was found buried in sediment near Charlotte, Vermont in 1849. It is exhibited at the Perkins Museum of Geology at the University of Vermont. Found at the time when knowledge of Earth's natural history was nascent, it proved key evidence for developing a glacial theory of New England. The whale skeleton was collected by Zadock Thompson and reconstructed by Albert David Hager in an unusual, anatomically-incorrect manner. Later, that error was preserved for its historical significance. It was Vermont's official state fossil from 1993 to 2014, after which it became designated as Vermont's state marine fossil.
caption: A pair of beluga whales
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