In order to appreciate the shape and size difference, we found a model of the same species as the stranded whale (measuring 50 centimeters) and next to it the figure of a person to the same scale.
In the same display case, there is a life-size reproduction of the whale's eye (13 centimeters in diameter) and next to it, a section of it.
The eye's outer part, called the sclera, stands out. In whales, it's thicker and harder, like bone, and protects the retina like a chest. The sclera possibly protects the retina from pressure changes when swimming at great depths.
In humans, the sclera, which is the white part of the eye, measures only a few millimeters, and in whales, it measures 4 centimeters.
The corpus cavernosum is a sponge-like tissue that surrounds the optic nerve and can propel the eye outward to focus.
Model of a whale and a human. Life-size reproduction of a whale's eye and its section.
