Left lateral view of the skull bones in a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus).

Some display transparency has been applied to the squamosal bone so that the tympanic bulla and the dense bony ossifications or “anchors” become visible. Bony skull components that are visible in this orientation are the: occipital (yellow), parietal (white), frontal (red), maxillary (green), squamosal (magenta), tympanic bullae (green), and the “anchors” (white). The dense bony anchors fan out dorsolaterally within the squamosal bones of the skull (see also Fig. 2). In this lateral view, the adjacent periotic bones are not visible because they are obscured by the anchors and tympanic bulla.