*Orca Bone Atlas Now on the Web* * * For the very first time, scanned digital images of the bones and skeleton of an orca can be examined on the web at http://www.ptmsc.org/boneatlas/ A collaboration between the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, NOAA and the Idaho Virtualization Laboratory at the Idaho Museum of Natural History resulted in the development of this free online research and education tool. In January 2002, a 46-year old female transient orca stranded and died on the north shore of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. She was identified as CA189, later re-named Hope by local students. The necropsy, skull CT scan and subsequent lab analysis of her tissue raised serious questions about the cause of her death. As a result, CA189 has become one of the most studied orcas in the years since her death. Visit http://www.ptmsc.org/orca_project.html for more information on the stranding and subsequent findings. The Orca Bone Atlas is designed for students and teachers, researchers, archaeologists and marine mammal protection agencies. Viewers can examine any bone’s surface details, rotate and change its scale, modify its surface shading, accurately measure any dimensions of the bone and compare the bone with those of other marine mammals via an allied site - the Virtual Zooarchaeology of the Arctic Project http://vzap.iri.isu.edu/ViewPage.aspx?id=230 title= Funding for the Bone Atlas was generously provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences and by the Norcliffe Foundation. * * For more information, contact: Libby Palmer Orca Project Manager Port Townsend Marine Science Center 532 Battery Way Port Townsend, WA 98368 libbypalmer2@gmail.com