The skeleton of a whale that died around 10,000 years ago has been found in connection with the extension of the E6 motorway in Strömstad. The whale bones are now being examined by researchers at the University of Gothenburg who, among other things, want to ascertain whether the find is the mystical “Swedenborg whale”.
There are currently four species of right whale. What is particularly interesting is that the size and shape of the whale bones resemble those of a fifth species: the mystical “Swedenborg whale”, first described by the scientist Emmanuel Swedenborg in the 18th century.
“Bones from what is believed to be Swedenborg’s right whale have previously been found in western Sweden. However, determining the species of whale bones found in earth is complicated and there is no definitive conclusion on whether the whale actually existed, it could equally well be a myth,” says zoologist Thomas Dahlgren and his colleague Leif Jonsson.
Source: Science Daily.
