Shirahama, Chiba, Japan, Asia, North Pacific Ocean
Collection Date:
1953
Taxonomy:
Animalia Chordata Mammalia Cetacea Ziphiidae
Published Name:
Berardius bairdii Stejneger, 1883
Other Numbers:
Whale Field Number 1 : No Number
USNM Number:
STR18202
Specimen Count:
1
Notes:
Taxidermied skin prepared for the 1954 IWC meeting in Tokyo.
Yamada e-mail 23 V 2011
A Berardius taxidermy was prepared for the 1954 IWC meeting in Tokyo. It was then exhibited in the National Science Museum in Tokyo for a certain period of time, The National Science Museum has no record and we do not know how long it was on display. In 1970 it was given to a high school in Iwate prefecture from the very bottom of the museum storage. Hirota high school of Fisheries kept the specimen for more than 20 years. It was again given to a Rikuzen takada city, for a new museum built in 1994. The specimen hanging from the ceiling was hit by the tsunami in March. The specimen was plastic-coated in 1994, the coating was partly destroyed by the tsunami and National Science Museum is planning to repair it. The quality of the soecimen is not very good.
