Model 55A - Southern Right Whale

3D Model

This is a 3D animation of a Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis, Panel C, Fig. 1) which was reconstructed using the open source software Blender 3D (blender.org). Measurements taken from drone videos of right whales (see Christensen et al. 2019) were used to create an ellipsoid that served as a basis for the model. The measurements for height and width of the whale were taken at increments of 5% of the total body length. Reference photos were also used as a guide to create taxonomic features onto the ellipsoid using Blender 3D sculpting tools (primarily the dynamic topology function). These features included the fluke, pectoral fins, eye, and mouth arrangements.