【Designated by the City：Natural Monument (Geological Feature)】Shimajiri Whale Fossil

A study of Miyako was conducted by the quaternary study group of Okinawa which began on August 25, 1973, and on the 28th, the whale fossil was discovered on the water’s edge on the abrasion plateau. Over two days, until the 29th, junior high school teachers and the research group unearthed the fossil and entrusted their findings to the museum. The whale fossil was half of a skull which was well preserved, and this aquatic vertebrate had the following characteristics:

A. The triangle shaped head and neck at the back had kept almost the original form.
B. The occipital bone and its opening at the base of the neck had kept its original form.
C. The skull is approximately 700mm in length, 950mm in width, and 250mm in thickness, and the gap between the back of the skull to the cheekbone is approximately 110mm.

It is estimated that the fossil belonged to the Pliocene period, dating back to 2 to 6 million years ago. The skull of this whale fossil is generally flat and the view from the back shows characteristics of a humpback whale, and is similar to the present bryde’s whale of the genus balaenopteridae. It is referred to as Shimajiri Kujira (Whale) because it was found at the coast of Shimajiri.
(Entrusted) Collection of the Miyakojima City Museum