Distribution of fossil whales on Cerro Blanco, superimposed on an aerial photo. Red dots correspond to individual whales (N = 180). Black dots correspond to specimens that cannot be determined to be complete whales, usually because of post-exposure erosional damage (N = 166). It appears likely that most whales were essentially complete before the effects of modern erosion processes.
Baleen from Fernanda. Left - surface view of the baleen (~ 8 cm from top to bottom of photo). Upper right - cross section of baleen. The dark colored v-shaped structures are sheets of baleen. Lower right - microscopic enlargement of surface of a sheet of baleen. Notice the fine ridges preserved in the baleen. We found fossilized baleen in several other whales also, but the baleen was best preserved in this whale. This type of preservation requires rapid burial, before the baleen tissue decayed. Fernanda was also buried before the spinal cord decayed, as black mineral replacement of the spinal cord was present in its normal position within the vertebral column (but nowhere else).
