Development of male Northern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) melon

Development of male Northern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) melon, with 1 being the oldest, 4 being the youngest and 5 being a female.

The next illustration has the same subject matter, although 120 years later. It’s fairly similar, although the oldest male head appears even more massive; amazingly, the Southern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon planifrons) apparently has an even larger melon, although is unfortunately rarely photographed.

Gray, D. (1882) Notes on the characters and habits of the bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon rostratus). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1882 726–731.

Hardy, M. (2005) Extent, Development and Function of Sexual Dimorphisms in the Skulls of the Bottlenose Whales (Hyperoodon spp.) and Cuvier’s Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris). Master’s Thesis for University of Wales, Bangor