#omurai

[namu-the-orca]

Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai)

Recently I got to revisit my old favourite the Omura’s whale. Four years ago I illustrated the right side for the Encyclopaedia of Marine Mammals, under guidance of Dr. Salvatore Cerchio who was the first to study them in the wild. This year I got to illustrate the left side (and took the chance to update the right side as well), again under Sal's guidance. Both illustrations will appear in the new edition of “The Natural History of Madagascar.” 

Although considered the dark and ‘drab’ side of the whale, Omura’s still have intricately beautiful markings on their left. We spent many days pouring over underwater footage, trying to find out what markings lurked there, and how they usually presented themselves. Some interesting things to note are the beautiful ‘flame’ where the left and right chevrons meet up, and the grey flank colouration, rising up towards the dorsal fin and then feathering out towards the fluke. An elegant subtle marking I totally overlooked four years ago, but now noticed on surfacing shots. There’s also a fine black line reaching forward toward the genital area: something I have yet to see on any other species of baleen whale. Another thing of note is that the black-white division on the throat does not usually sit right in the middle: they have some white on the left side of their throat as well. And perhaps most fascinating: the entire colouraton pattern is placed further forward on the left side compared to the right. This overall asymmetry is seen on more baleen whales, but none show it as strongly as the Omura’s.

I’ll stop myself here, but once you really start looking at animals, and measuring, there’s so much to notice... it’s fascinating and one of the great joys of illustrating for me. I hope you’ll enjoy these freshly updated Omura’s too!

[namu-the-orca]

Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai)

A good while ago I illustrated the mysterious Omura's whale as part of my baleen whale series. I had barely any reference material to go on and the result was, in hindsight, a little uh... wonky. Not long after my work was finished, news came that the species had been studied and photographed in earnest for the first time, in the form of a newly discovered population off Madagascar. I never felt the need (or had the time) to revise my old illustration, but a while back I got the chance to do it over.

I was contacted by Salvatore Cerchio, the scientist who had discovered the Madagascan population, and was asked to paint a revised illustration, based on all the footage he and his team had accumulated in their study. Needless to say, I was stoked! Over the course of a week or two we discussed proportions, fluke positions, markings, scars, ventral pleats, dorsal fins and just about anything else you can imagine. This is the final result. I never thought I'd become so familiar with a species over such a short time. The complexity and beauty of their markings is incredible!

As always so many details get lost in the shrinking of the picture, so I picked some out and highlighted them at the bottom: the eye from which the beautiful blazes and chevrons originate, the fine speckling on the leading edge of the pectoral fin, and the intriguing marks left behind by what seem to be the suckers of Remora fish. I hope you guys enjoy! It certainly was a most incredible experience to paint this this beauty.

If you want to learn more about Omura's whales, or see some of the fantastic pictures taken by the Madagascar science team, you can go here: www.omuraswhale.org/

[namu-the-orca]

Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai)

Here’s another funny one; my Omura’s whale illustration from before I actually had photographs of Omura’s whales. He’s kinda pudgy and too dark, but the markings are surprisingly not too far off. But let’s go back in time to 2015 and my original description:

There is a problem with trying to illustrate Mysticetes in as much detail as possible, and that problem's name is the Omura's whale. Only scientifically described in 2003, so little is known about this whale that this info piece is going to be very short indeed (and mostly about how little we know). Because while various metric data is know, including length and weight measurements, and cranial morphology, barely a thing is known about their ecology. Also their looks are somewhat mysterious: in the official report they are noted as being very similar to the much larger Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in colouration, and have indeed been called the 'Little fin whale'.

Since then, thanks to the great effort of Salvatore Cerchio’s team in Madagascar, a lot more has been discovered. About their habits, their ecology, and their pjhysical appearance. Much of this info can be found on the official website of the research project: http://www.omuraswhale.org/

[latentshutterbug]

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