Giglioli’s Whale is a purported species of whale observed by Enrico Hillyer Giglioli

Enrico Hillyer Giglioli

Enrico Hillyer Giglioli was an Italian zoologist and anthropologist.Giglioli was born in London and first studied there. He obtained a degree in science at the University of Pisa in 1864 and started to teach zoology in Florence in 1869...

. It is described as having two dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

s, a feature which no known whales have. The species is not recognized by the general scientific community.

Accounts

On September 4, 1867 on board a ship called the Magenta about 1200 miles off the coast of Chile, the zoologist spotted a species of whale which he could not recognize. It was very close to the ship (too close to shoot with a cannon) and was observed for a quarter of an hour, allowing Giglioli to make very detailed observations. The whale looked overall similar to a rorqual

Rorqual

Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales, with nine species in two genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the Blue Whale, which can reach , and another that easily reaches ; even the smallest of the group, the Northern Minke Whale, reaches .-Characteristics:Rorquals...

, 60 feet (18 m) long with an elongated body, but the most notable difference was the presence of two large dorsal fins about 6.5 feet (2 m) apart. No known whales have twin dorsal fins; the rorqual only has a single fin and some other whales have none. Other unusual features include the presence of two long sickle-shaped flippers and a lack of furrows present under the throats of rorquals.

Another report of a two finned whale of roughly the same size was recorded from the ship Lily off the coast of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 the following year. In 1983 between Corsica

Corsica

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....

 and the French mainland, French zoologist Jacques Maigret sighted a similar looking creature.

Classification

Although it has not been proven to exist, it was given a "classification" by Giglioli. However, scientists would most likely classify the whale under Balaenopteridae, large baleen

Baleen whale

The Baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales, form the Mysticeti, one of two suborders of the Cetacea . Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filtering food from water, rather than having teeth. This distinguishes them from the other suborder of cetaceans,...

 whales.

Possible explanations

The whale may have been a genetic mutation. Another cryptid

Cryptid

In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a cryptid is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely. Famous examples include the Yeti in the Himalayas and the Loch Ness Monster in...

 with two dorsal fins is the fabled Rhinoceros dolphin

Rhinoceros Dolphin

The Rhinoceros Dolphin , is supposedly an unrecognized species of dolphin said to have two dorsal fins . - Appearance :...

.

Whaling

Given the species' alleged size (60 feet) and attributes (it resembles a rorqual), it is extremely doubtful such a species would not have been taken (and reported) by modern commercial whalers, bringing into doubt its very existence.