That beluga whale certainly doesn't have legs. Here's what it does have.

Beluga whales aren't hiding legs under their thick, rubbery skin. But a popular image of a surfacing beluga has for years created the curious illusion of a whale with legs and knees. 

The image, which excites the web from time to time, has recently turned up again. These symmetrical, bone-like features surely aren't legs, but they do serve an important purpose for the marine mammals, which naturally reside in frigid Arctic and sub-Arctic waters.

SEE ALSO: Did a nor'easter whip a puffer fish into a tree? An investigation

It's blubber. Specifically, long "rails" of extra fatty insulation the mammals store on their sides. Read more...

More about Science, Ocean, Whales, Biology, and Investigation

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