Those White Crusts on Whales Are Alive and Full of Stories

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You might think the white patches that grow on whale’s heads and faces are just weird skin growths, and you’re not wrong. But when you look closer, these patches are crawling with tiny stowaways!

Hosted by: Michael Aranda

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Sources:
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.20535
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128043271000820
https://baleinesendirect.org/en/what-is-the-function-of-the-callosities-in-right-whales/
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Urban_Whale/-m6r-SfaSy4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA79&printsec=frontcover
https://www.whoi.edu/cms/files/mms_patrician_59400.pdf
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z99-249
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128043271002685
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z96-014
https://www.int-res.com/articles/dao2005/68/d068p071.pdf
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02664.x
https://hmr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s10152-017-0486-y

Image Sources:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-pacific-right-whale