Bellsund, Malbukta, Beluga Fishery, Whale Bones - Svalbard - 3

The bones of the fore-limb (arm) of a Beluga. The single stocky bone on the left is the humerus, the equivalent of your upper arm bone from shoulder to elbow, note the massive ball which forms part of the shoulder ball and socket joint.

The two bones below this are the radius and ulna of the fore-arm. Notice how the bones are fused together at the equivalent of your elbow, this is because the fore-limb in a Beluga is a short and powerful flipper with relatively limited motion compared to your arms. The bones of the wrist and fingers have become detached and are missing from this specimen, they would have extended into a short flipper about half as long again as the elements that are present.

77° 33.3' N, 15° 00' E