Mysticete, _Gray_, _Cat. Seals & Whales B. M._ pp. 61, 68;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 1.
Mystacoceti or Balænoidea, _Flower_, _Trans. Zool. Soc._ vi. p.
110.
Head large, depressed. Teeth rudimentary; they never cut the gums. Palate
with transverse, fringed, horny plates of baleen. Nostrils separate,
longitudinal. Gullet very contracted. Tympanic bones simple, large,
cochleate, attached to an expanding periotic bone, which forms part of
the skull.
The baleen of the different Whales may be divided by its structure, by
its form, and by its colour. The form and structure often go together.
The baleen consists of two parts:—1, the outer layer, called the enamel
coat; and, 2, the central fibres, which form the fringe on the inner edge
of the blade: both are well seen in cross sections under the microscope.
The outer coat or enamel differs in thickness in the different kinds.
Thus it is very thick and forms the greater part of the blade in the
Greenland Whale; and in different kinds it gradually becomes thinner,
until it only forms a thin coat over the central fibres. The central
longitudinal fibres differ in thickness and in number. When they are very
slender, as in the Greenland Whale, they form only a single layer between
the two coats of enamel, and their produced ends make a very fine, long,
flaccid fringe to the inner edge of the blade. In other Whales they
are very numerous, in many series, and form a considerable part of the
thickness of the whalebone, and make a more or less broad and rigid
fringe to the blade. In some the fibres are so thick and rigid that they
do not droop, but form an erect ragged edge to the short and broad blade,
so rigid, indeed, that the fibres of this kind of whalebone are used to
make brushes and brooms.
The whalebone varies in form, from being narrow, elongate, many times as
long as it is broad at the base, by many gradations, according to the
families or genera, until it is not longer than broad. The longest blades
have the most enamel and the finest and most flaccid fibres, which, on
the other hand, gradually (as it belongs to different genera) become
coarser and more rigid as the whalebone diminishes in length compared
with its breadth.
The whalebone or baleen offers exceedingly good and permanent characters
for the distinction and characters of the species when its structure
and form and colour are properly studied. It is stated that sometimes
the character of the whalebone is changed by its preparation, as, for
example, being soaked in water for some time before it is brought to this
country; but the soaking, although it may slightly alter the surface and
make the enamel coat rather thinner, does not alter the general form or
microscopic structure of the blades.
In my essay on Whales in the ‘Zoology of the Erebus & Terror,’ 1846,
I separated the Right Whales, or Balænidæ, into two divisions—the one
having very slender, long, polished whalebone with a single series of
fringe, and the second with coarser, shorter, and broader whalebone and
a thick coarse fringe. The first was afterwards called _Balæna_, and
the second _Eubalæna_. M. Beneden seems inclined to adopt this division
(see ‘Ostéographie,’ Cétacés, p. 144), observing that the former are
confined to the Arctic regions and the other to the more temperate
zones; but this is not correct, for _Balæna marginata_, as I stated in
my first essay, has the whalebone quite as polished and as fine as that
of the Greenland Whale. It lives on the west coast of Australia and New
Zealand, in company with the Black Whale of Australia and the Black
Whale of New Zealand (both of which, I have no doubt, have short coarse
whalebone). The Whale of the most northern parts of the Pacific yields
the north-west-coast whalebone, which is of a very coarse character.
The first section of Whales, with long, slender, elastic, polished,
finely fringed whalebone, contains two genera, _Balæna_ and _Neobalæna_.
The Whales of the second section, which have rough, brittle whalebone,
with a thick fringe of coarse hairs, includes four genera, viz.
_Eubalæna_, _Hunterius_, _Caperea_, and _Macleayius_.
It is very true that I have only seen the whalebone in one of these
genera, _Eubalæna_, in connexion with the bones of the animal; but as
“the South-sea whalers” (that is to say, those who fish in the Southern
and Pacific oceans) have only brought various examples of this kind of
whalebone from any of their voyages (except a few blades of the whalebone
of _B. marginata_, which they call “sea-tassel”), we may naturally
conclude that all the large Right Whales found in those seas have this
kind of whalebone.
Suborder I. BALÆNOIDEA (_cf._ p. 46).
Head large. Body stout. Dorsal fin none. Chest and belly smooth, without
plaits. Pectoral fin broad, truncated; fingers 5, graduated. Arm-bones
very short, thick; radius and humerus of equal length. Baleen elongate,
slender. Tympanic bones rhombic. Cervical vertebræ united.
Balænoidea, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 1.
Family 1. BALÆNIDÆ. _Right Whales._
Balænidæ, _Gray_, _Cat. Seals & Whales B. M._ pp. 61, 75;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 1; _Lilljeborg_, _N. Acta Upsal._
1867, vi.
Head very large, and body short. Dorsal fin none. Belly smooth. Baleen
elongate, slender. Vertebræ of the neck anchylosed. Pectoral fin broad,
truncated at the end; fingers 5. Tympanic bones rhombic; maxillary bones
narrow.
Capt. Maury’s Whale-Charts show that Right Whales are found in almost all
seas, from the poles to within 35 or 30 degrees of latitude on each side
of the equator. An experienced whaler observes that “Right Whales are
as seldom seen in that belt as Sperm-Whales are found out of it.” Capt.
Maury justly observes, the torrid zone is to these animals “forbidden
ground, and it is as physically impossible for them to cross the equator
as it would be to cross a sea of flame. In short, these researches show
that there is a belt of from two to three thousand miles in breadth, and
reaching from one side of the ocean to the other, in which the Right
Whale is never found.”—_Maury_, _Whale-Charts_, p. 233.
Prof. Van Beneden, in a paper to the Royal Belgian Academy, and
reproduced enlarged in the ‘Ostéographie—Cétacés,’ gives a geographical
distribution of Whales. He acknowledges only six species, having the
following distribution:—
1. _B. mysticetus._ The Arctic Ocean on both sides of Greenland, and on
the coast of Siberia to the Sea of Okhotsk.
2. _B. biscayensis._ The North Atlantic, from latitude 65° to 45°, and a
belt across the Atlantic to the coast of the United States, from lat. 45°
to 50°.
3. _B. japonica._ A band across the North Pacific from lat. 60° to 45° on
the west coast of America and 45° to 30° on the coast of Japan.
4. _B. australis._ A belt across the South Atlantic, from lat. 25° to 30°
on the south-west coast of Africa and lat. 35° to 50° on the coast of
South America.
5. _B. antipodarum._ In a similar belt across the South Pacific from the
west coast of South America, in lat. 45°, to New Zealand.
6. A species which he does not name, said to inhabit a belt from Natal to
the south-east part of Australia, about lat. 30°.
See Dr. Gray’s observations on this theory, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1868,
vol. i. p. 242, and 1870, vol. vi. p. 193, in which he observes “I think
I have proved that M. van Beneden’s theory is entirely unsupported by
facts.”
I. _Baleen thin, polished, with a thick enamel on each side and a fine
elongate slender fringe_ (cf. p. 42).
1. BALÆNA.
Balæna, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 79; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 1;
_Lilljeborg_, _N. Acta Upsal._ vi. 1867.
First rib slender, narrow, and undivided at the vertebral end. Tympanic
bones square; aperture nearly as long as the bone. There is at the
end of the radius and at the end of the cubitus a large cartilaginous
compartment which corresponds with the radial and cubital bone, and has
not even a bony nucleus; between these two cartilages is an intermediate
cartilage; below these are two or three carpals. Cervical vertebræ
united by their bodies. Upper lateral process of atlas broad at the base,
compressed, rather narrow, and rounded at the end; the lower lateral
process elongate, subcylindrical, angulated at the lower side of the base
(see Cat. Whales, p. 84, f. 4; Ostéogr. Cét. t. 4. f. 5-9). The lower
process of the second and third elongate and produced; the upper process
of the second, fifth, sixth, and seventh elongate, produced, and bent
forward. Bladebone with a large, compressed, elongate acromion (Ostéogr.
Cét. t. 4. f. 26). Carpus cartilaginous, with three small carpal bones
(Ostéogr. Cét. t. 4. f. 27).
1. Balæna mysticetus.
B.M.
Balæna mysticetus, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 81, 370, figs. 1, 2, 4,
5; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 1, t. 1. f. 4 (baleen); _R.
Brown_, _P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 534.
Inhab. North Sea.
Dr. Robert Brown gives an account and notes of the habits and migrations
of this animal. He observes:—“Where the Whale goes to in winter is still
unknown. It is said that it leaves Davis Strait about the month of
November, and produces young in the St. Lawrence River, between Quebec
and Camaroa, returning to Davis Strait in the spring. At all events,
early in the year they are found on the coast of Labrador, where the
English whalers occasionally attack them; but the ships arrive generally
too late, and the weather at that season is too tempestuous to render
the ‘south-west fishing’ very attractive.... It is said that early in
September they enter Cumberland (Hogarth’s) Sound in great numbers,
and remain until it is completely frozen up, which, according to the
Eskimo account, is not until January.... They enter the Sound again
in the spring, and remain until the heat of summer has melted off the
land-floes in these comparatively southern latitudes. It thus appears
that they winter and produce their young all along the broken water off
the southern coasts of Hudson’s Strait, Davis Strait, and Labrador.”
He continues, “I am strongly of belief that the Whales of the Spitzbergen
sea never, as a body, visit Davis Strait, but winter somewhere in the
open water at the southern edge of the northern ice-fields. The Whales
are being gradually driven further north.”
2. Balæna mediterranea.
Balæna mediterranea, _Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist._ 1870, vi.
pp. 198, 200.
Baleine, _Lacépède_, _Cétacés_, tab. 7. fig. 1.
Balæna biscayensis (part.), _Van Beneden_, _Ostéogr. Cét._ tab.
7. fig. 1 (animal), figs. 8-11 (nuchal vertebræ), figs. 2, 3 (?
vertebræ).
Inhab. Mediterranean, I. St. Marguerite (_Lacépède_).
3. Balæna angulata.
B.M.
Balæna, mysticetus, var. angulata, _Gray_, _Cat. Seals &
Whales_, p. 86, f. 5 (ear-bones).
Inhab. North Sea? Ear-bones, British Museum.
4. Balæna nordcaper.
Balæna nordcaper, _Bonnat_.
Balæna islandica, _Brisson_.
Balæna biscayensis, _Eschricht_.
Balæna mysticetus, var., _Brown_, _P. Z. S._ 1868. p. 546.
Inhab. Iceland. Called “Slet-bag.”
It has been ascertained, “1st, that it is much more active than the
Greenland Whale, much quicker and more violent in its movements, and
accordingly both more difficult and dangerous to capture; 2nd, that it
is smaller (it being, however, impossible to give an exact statement of
its length) and has much less blubber; 3rd, that its head is shorter, and
that its whalebone is comparatively small and scarcely more than half the
length of that of the _B. mysticetus_; 4th, that it is regularly infested
with a cirriped belonging to the genus _Coronula_, and that it belongs
to the temperate North Atlantic as exclusively as the _B. mysticetus_
belongs to the icy sea.”—_Dr. Brown_, _P. Z. S._ 1868, p. 546.
Dr. Brown says that barnacles are looked upon as a sign of age in a
Whale; and he considers that a considerable portion of the description
of the _nordcaper_ corresponds with what he has said of the Spitsbergen
whale (P. Z. S. 1868, p. 547).
See also:—
1. Balæna mysticetus, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. N. S. Philad._ 1869,
pp. 17 & 35.
The Bow-headed Whale, Scammond, _American whalers_.
Inhab. Behring’s Straits.
2. Balæna kuliomoch, _Chamisso_, _Nov. Acta Natur._ tab. 7.
fig. 1; _Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. N. H._ 1870, vi. p. 202.
Balæna cullamacha, _Chamisso_, _Nov. Act._ xii. p. 251, t. ⸺;
_Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Phil._ 1868, p. 225, 1869, pp. 14, 17 &
40, fig. 4.
Inhab. North Pacific.
From wooden model made by the Aleutians.
2. NEOBALÆNA.
Skull rather depressed; brain-cavity nearly as long as the beak,
depressed, much expanded on the sides, with a very deep notch on the
middle of each side over the condyles of the lower jaw, and with a
subtriangular crown-plate. The nose as broad as the expanded brain-cavity
at the base, regularly attenuated to a fine point in front, and slightly
arched downwards. Lower jaw laminar, compressed, high; the upper edge
thin, and inflexed the greater part of its length, erect in front; the
lower edge inflexed in front, the rest of the edge being simple. The
baleen elongate, slender, several times as long as broad, with a fringe
of a single series of fine fibres; enamelled surface smooth and polished,
thick.
[Illustration: Figs. 1 & 2. Side view and top view of the skull of
_Neobalæna marginata_, from Dr. Hector’s figures.]
1. Neobalæna marginata.
B.M.
Balæna marginata, _Gray_, _Cat. Seals & Whales Brit. Mus._ p.
90; _Hector_, _Proc. & Trans. of the New-Zealand Institute_,
1869, t. 2 B. f. 1-4; _Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist._ 1870, v. p. 221,
and vi. p. 155, figs. 1 & 2.
Inhab. New Zealand; Island of Kawau (_Sir G. Grey_). Mus. Wellington.
In width and general form the beak of the skull is somewhat like the beak
of some of the Finner Whales; but it does not at all justify Mr. Knox’s
idea that _Balæna marginata_ is a Finner. But this difference of skull
makes us more anxious to have the description of the entire animal and
its skeleton, as the animal may prove to be the type of a new family of
Whales, between the true Whales and Finners.
This pigmy whale, which is not more than 15 or 16 feet long, is a
representative in the Southern Ocean of the gigantic Right Whale of
the Greenland seas. It has the most beautiful, the most flexible, most
elastic, and the toughest whalebone or baleen yet discovered; and if
this were of larger size, it would fetch a much higher price than the
whalebone of the Greenland Whale, the latter being three or four times
the value of the brittle coarse whalebone of the _Eubalænæ_ or Right
Whales of the Southern and Pacific Oceans. The trade of the Continental
nations being chiefly confined to their colonies, or their merchants
obtaining the whalebone that is used in their manufactures second-hand,
there are not in the market the varieties of whalebone and finner-bone
which we have in this country, where the whalebone and finner-bone
from different localities bear each a different value. This perhaps
explains why the Continental zoologists (as Eschricht) who have paid
attention to the structure of whales have not paid sufficient attention
to the characters afforded by the shape, structure, and colour of this
substance, to which I called their attention more than twenty years
ago, and showed its value as a character for distinguishing the genera
and species. It has been a fertile subject of reproach to me that I
established some species on the characters afforded by this substance;
but I need only mention, as a proof of the little attention Van Beneden
has paid to this part of my work, that in his book on the anatomy of
Whales, now in progress, after saying that I have established the species
_Balæna marginata_ on three blades of whalebone, he says I have called it
_Eubalæna marginata_, thus confounding it with the Whales with brittle
and coarse whalebone—whereas the chief reason that induced me to consider
the blades to belong to a distinct species was their very fine and tough
structure. The accuracy of the determination is now proved by the very
different form of its skull from that of any other known Whale. In the
same manner, the _Physalus antarcticus_, also established on finner-bone
or baleen imported from New Zealand, has been proved to be a very
distinct species of that genus, named Sulphur-bottoms by the whalers.
From the description given at page 90 of the British-Museum ‘Catalogue of
Seals and Whales,’ there is no doubt that the baleen corresponds with the
above species. The specimen was obtained at Kawau Island by Sir George
Grey, and appears to be unique, as the species has hitherto only been
known from the baleen.
The dimensions are as follows:—
lbs.
Weight of cranium 58
Weight of lower jaw 13
ft. in.
Length 4 9
Fronto-nasal section 2 10
To centre of orbit 3 10
Width at orbit 2 5
Width at mastoid process 2 7
in. lin.
Lower jaw, high 3 11
Depth (greatest) 8 0
Baleen 29 inches long, 3½ inches in extreme width.
Black margin from ¼ to ⅜ inch.
“Knox now admits that this is not the Sulphur-bottom, which he says is
the Trigger of the New-Zealand whalers. He fancies that _B. marginata_
may be the true Finner of the south. I will try to find some more of the
bones.”—_Trans. New Zeal. Inst._ 1870, p. 26.
This Whale, from the form and structure of the whalebone, cannot be a
Finner, but is certainly, as I arranged it, a true Right Whale, very
nearly allied to the Right Whale of Greenland, and of a very small size.
The bones of this Whale would be a most valuable addition to the British
Museum or any zoological museum. They appear not to be uncommon in the
Kawau Islands; and the measurements of the skull are a valuable addition
to our knowledge of the species.
This small Right Whale of the Antarctic Sea is the representative of the
Right Whale in the Arctic Sea, and, judging from the length of the head,
cannot be more than 14 or 15 feet long, while the Greenland Whale is from
50 to 65 feet long.
II. _Baleen thick, not polished, with a thin enamel coat on each side,
and a coarse thick fringe_ (cf. p. 37).
3. EUBALÆNA.
Eubalæna, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 91; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p.
1; _Lilljeborg_, _N. Acta Upsal._ vi. 1867; _Flower_, _Trans.
Zool. Soc._ vi. p. 115.
First rib broad at the vertebral end. Tympanic bone square; aperture
nearly as long as the bone. The first six cervical vertebræ all united
by their bodies. The upper lateral process of the atlas subcylindrical,
narrow at the base, recurved and rounded at the end; the lower lateral
process narrow at the base, swollen and rounded at the end (Ostéog. Cét.
t. 1. f. 19). Carpus cartilaginous, with six carpal bones, a radius
and cubitus, one radial and one cubital and two carpals in the second
range (Ostéog. Cét. t. 1. f. 1). Scapula as long as broad, with a small
cylindrical coracoid process, rounded at the end. Five phalanges to the
middle finger, four to the index and ring fingers, four to the little
finger, and two to the thumb. The first rib is simple at the upper and
thin at the free edge. The nasal bone rhomboidal, moderate. Vertebræ
50-59.
1. Eubalæna australis.
B.M.
Eubalæna australis, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 91, fig. 6; _Synops.
Whales & Dolph._ p. 1.
Balæna australis, _Cuv._, _Oss. Foss._ v. t. 25-27.
Balæna capensis, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ t. 1. f. 3
(baleen).
Inhab. Cape of Good Hope.
2. Eubalæna Sieboldii.
Eubalæna Sieboldii, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 96; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 1, t. 1. f. 2 (baleen).
Balæna japonica, _Gray_, _Zool. Ereb. & Ter._ p. 15, tab. 1*.
fig. 2 (baleen).
Balæna alutiensis, _Meyer_; _Van Beneden_, _Bull. Acad.
Belgique_, xx. 1866, no. 14. [Both from the North-west-Coast
whalebone of commerce, which is quite distinct from the
South-sea whalebone, brought from the Cape.]
Balæna japonica, _Eschricht_, _Vid. Selsk. Skrivt._ ser. 5.
ix. p. 1, Kjöbenh. 1869, pl. 1 (skull of fœtus), pl. 2 (head);
_Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist._ 1870, vi. p. 202.
Inhab. Kamtschatka. Skeleton of fœtus 5¼ feet long, in Mus. Copenhagen.
See also the following doubtful species:—
1. Balæna japonica, _Lacépède_, _Mém. Mus._ iv. p. 473.
Balæna lunulata, _Lacép._ _Mém. Mus._ iv. p. 475.
These two are from Chinese, or, rather, Japanese drawings.
2. Balæna australis, _Temminck_, _Fauna Japonica_, Taf. 28 & 29
(not _Desmoulins_).
Balæna Sieboldii, _Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. N. H._ 1864, xiv. p. 349.
From a model made by the Japanese in porcelain clay.
3. Eubalæna? cisarctica.
Eubalæna? cisarctica, _Cope_.
Balæna cisarctica, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad._ 1865,
p. 1; _Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. N. H._ 1868, i. pp. 244 & 247, 1870,
vi. p. 200.
Balæna biscayensis, _Van Beneden_, _Ostéogr. Cét._ t. 7. figs.
4, 5, 6 (ear-bones only).
Inhab. Atlantic.
“There is a skeleton of the _Balæna cisarctica_ in the Museum of the
Academy of an individual of 37 feet, and a ramus mandibuli 16 feet in
length, indicating a total of 68 feet, adult size. A scapula in the
Museum, Rutger’s College, New Brunswick, N. J., measures 36 inches in
height, and 48·5 inches in width, indicating an adult of 57 feet in
length. A young individual of 45 feet, line-measurement, awaits mounting
in the Museum Compar. Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. Of this individual I will
shortly give a detailed description in an essay on the species. Like the
other specimens, it presents a strong acromion. The phalanges of the
manus exhibited an important difference from those of _B. australis_. In
it they number respectively 2, 5, 6, 3, 3, while Cuvier gives (Oss. Foss.
227. 23) 2, 5, 6, 5, 4.”
4. HUNTERIUS.
Hunterius, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 78, 98; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 1; _Lilljeborg_, _N. Acta Upsal._ vi. 1867.
First rib broad, with a double head at the vertebral end. Tympanic bones
square; aperture nearly as long as the bone. Vertebræ 57 or 58; the five
first cervical united. Five phalanges in the fourth or ring finger, and
four to the second, third, and fifth fingers. The first rib bifid and
articulated to the first two dorsals, or the last cervical and the first
dorsal; the second rib very thick at the free end. The nasal bones very
large.
1. Hunterius Temminckii.
Hunterius Temminckii, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 98, fig. 8; _Synops.
Whales & Dolph._ p. 1; _Ann. & Mag. N. H._ 1870, p. 191.
Balæna australis, _Temm._ _F. Japon._ t. 28, 29.
Balæna australis, var., _Van Ben._ _Ostéogr. Cét._ p. 35.
Inhab. Cape of Good Hope.
M. van Beneden regards the character on which this genus is established
as merely a variation of _Balæna australis_ (Ostéog. Cét. p. 35).
The skeleton was sent from the Cape of Good Hope by Dr. Horstock. It is
described by Schlegel, Abhand. Gebiete der Zool. 1841, p. 37 (Flower, P.
Z. S. 1864).
2. Hunterius biscayensis.
Hunterius biscayensis, _Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist._ 1868,
i. p. 244; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2.
Balæna biscayensis, _Eschricht_, _Compt. Rendus_, 1860, _Act.
Soc. Linn. Bordeaux_, xiii.; _Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. N. H._ 1870,
p. 200 (not _Van Beneden_).
Balæna eubalæna, _Flower_, _P. Z. S._ 1864, p. 391.
Inhab. St. Sebastian. Skeleton of very young animal in Mus. Copenhagen,
from the Museum of Pampeluna.
Mr. Flower informs me that this skeleton belongs to the genus
_Hunterius_, which has brittle whalebone, with a large coarse fringe
(which easily splits into strips), and a bifid first rib.
3. Hunterius Swedenborgii.
Hunterius Swedenborgii, _Lilljeborg_, _N. Act. A. Sci. Upsal._
vi. 1867, p. 35, t. 9, 10, 11 (skeleton); _Gray_, _Synops.
Whales & Dolph._ p. 1.
Inhab. North Sea; Sweden (subfossil).
5. CAPEREA.
Caperea, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 78, 101; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._
p. 2; _Lilljeborg_, _N. Acta Upsal._ vi. 1867.
First rib ⸺? Baleen ⸺? Tympanic bones irregular, rhombic; aperture
irregular, much contracted at the upper end; the wide part not half the
length of the bone. “Cervical vertebræ all united. First rib single
at the upper, and very broad at the lower end. Bladebone (acromion)
rudimentary. Coracoid process none.”—_Lilljeborg._
Vertebræ 55; the seven cervical all soldered by their bodies, and the
spinous processes of the first five united into a single crest, and of
the two last into a separate crest; each has a distinct upper lateral
process and, except the seventh, a distinct lateral process. Upper
lateral process of the atlas narrow, square, reflexed, and bent upwards;
lower one thick, enlarged, and rounded at the end (Ostéogr. Cét. t. 3.
f. 4, 5). Scapula with only a slight ridge in the place of the acromion
(Ostéogr. Cét. t. 3. f. 7). Carpus cartilaginous, with five small bones.
Skull with a slender arched beak. Lower jaw subcylindrical, thick near
the condyle, rather attenuated in front.
The first rib is very narrow above, and gradually becomes very broad
below and deeply notched on the lower edge, which embraces nearly the
whole length of the sternum; upper end with a single head. Second rib
equally large at the free end, and not notched. Phalanges 1, 4, 5, 4, 3.
I believe that the “_bonnet_” of the Sandwich-Islands whalers is only the
“_topknot_” of the old male whale of this genus, or of a nearly allied
species.
1. Caperea antipodarum.
B.M.
Caperea antipodarum, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 101, f. 9; _Synops.
Whales & Dolph._ P. 2.
Balæna australis, _Desm. Diction_.
Balæna antipodarum, _Van Ben._ _Ostéogr. Cét._ p. 46, t. 3;
_Gray_, _Dieffenbach_, t. 1.
Inhab. New Zealand. Skeleton, Mus. Paris.
The seven cervical vertebræ are completely soldered by their bodies; and
the first five spinal apophyses form a continuous crest, and the two last
form a separate crest (Ostéogr. Cét. t. 3. f. 4, 5). The petrous portion
of the skull short, small. The bladebone longer than broad, with only a
slight indication of a process on the front edge. Upper lateral process
of the axis square, bent back; lower process rounded at the end and
prominent.
6. MACLEAYIUS.
Macleayius, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 103, 371; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 2.
Cervical vertebræ united into a single mass; upper lateral process of the
atlas very broad, compressed, occupying the greater part of the side,
truncated at the end. Lower margin close on the lower lateral process.
Lower lateral process elongate, compressed, rather swollen in the middle,
truncated at the end and bent forward, the upper processes of the second
and third cervical vertebræ forming a crest (Cat. Seals & Whales, p. 105,
f. 10, 11, and p. 372, f. 74, 75). Baleen ⸺?
1. Macleayius australiensis.
Macleayius australiensis, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 105 (figs. 10,
11), 371 (figs. 74, 75); _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2.
Inhab. Australian seas.
Atlas vertebra—the width, measuring from the extremity of the lower
processes, 28½ inches; width of the atlas 25 inches; height from the base
of atlas to top of crest 18 inches. Thickness of last cervical vertebra
10 inches.
2. Macleayius britannicus.
B.M.
Macleayius britannicus, _Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. N. H._ 1870, vi.
pp. 198 & 204.
Balæna biscayensis, _Van Beneden_ (part.), _Ostéogr. Cét._ tab.
7. fig. 7 (copied from _Gray_, _Cat. Seals & Whales_, p. 83,
fig. 3).
Balæna britannica, _Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. N. H._ 1870, vi. p. 200.
Inhab. Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire.
Cervical vertebræ of _Balæna_ from Lyme Regis (Gray, Cat. Seals & Whales,
p. 83, f. 3) copied on plate of _Balæna biscayensis_, Ostéog. Cét. t.
7. f. 7. Dredged up at Lyme Regis. The lateral processes of this bone
are much more like those of _Macleayius australiensis_ than those of any
other species; yet it differs in the outer edge of the broad lateral
process being oblique, narrowed towards the base, and in the lower
lateral process being shorter, turned up at the end, and the outer end
obliquely truncated and subangular below. This massive vertebra has
no affinity with _B. biscayensis_, and indicates the existence of a
completely different new species of Right Whales, which appears to be an
inhabitant of our seas.
Suborder II. BALÆNOPTEROIDEA (_cf._ p. 36).
Balænopteridæ, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 61, 106.
Balænopteroidea, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p 2.
Head moderate. Body elongate. Dorsal fin distinct, rarely wanting. Belly
longitudinally plaited, rarely smooth. Baleen short, broad. Maxillary
bones broad. Pectoral fin lanceolate; arms elongate; radius and ulna much
longer than the humerus. Fingers 4, subequal. Vertebræ of the neck free,
or partially united. Tympanic bones oblong or ovate.
Family 2. AGAPHELIDÆ. _Scrag Whales._
Head moderate; body elongate; hinder part of the back keeled and notched.
Cervical vertebræ free. Pectoral fin lanceolate. Fingers 4. Throat
without plaits. No dorsal fin. Ribs single-headed.
Mr. Cope “mentioned that he had an opportunity of examining a portion of
a specimen of the Scrag Whale of Dudley, _Balæna gibbosa_ of Erxleben,
and ascertained that it represented a genus not previously known. It was
a Fin-back Whale; but without dorsal fin or throat-folds, resembling
superficially the genus _Balæna_. The _baleen short and curved_. The
genus was called _Agaphelus_.”
1. AGAPHELUS.
Cervical vertebræ free. Fingers 4. Throat without plaits. No dorsal fin.
Ribs single-headed. Scapula with acromion (Cope, Proc. Soc. N. Sc. Phil.
1869, p. 16).
Agaphelus, _Cope_, _Proc. Soc. N. Sc. Phil._ 1868, pp. 159,
225; _Gray_, _Ann. & Mag. N. H._ 1870, vi. p. 200.
“Fingers four, elongate. Cervical vertebræ ⸺? Lumbar and anterior caudal
vertebræ longer than their greatest diameter. Dorsal fin wanting. Gular
and pectoral region without folds. Scapula with well-developed acromion
and coracoid. Baleen narrow, short, curved.
“The baleen is peculiar; throughout the length of the maxillary bone it
nowhere exceeded one foot in length, and the width of the band, or length
of the base of each plate, four inches. It is of a creamy white; the
fringe very coarse, white, and resembling hogs’ bristles.
“The ear-bone is much compressed, with an inferior carina, towards which
the lip of dense bone is suddenly decurved. The longitudinal opening is
much contracted, especially anteriorly, where the bone is pinched up into
a keel; and there is no abrupt concavity of the inner lip at that point.
External surface not very rugose. Total length 3 in. 2·5 lines.
“The scapula preserved is low and elongate, with well-developed acromion
and coracoid process. It is evidently of the type of _Balænoptera_
and _Physalus_; the ulna and radius relatively less elongate than in
_Sibbaldius laticeps_ and _borealis_, being 1·5 as long as the humerus,
thus resembling _Physalus_.
“The four fingers, with the second much the longest, form a fin of the
type of those genera.
“The ear-bone is much more compressed than in _Physalus antiquorum_ or
_Sibbaldius laticeps_.
“The mandibular ramus is rather massive, moderately curved, and with a
more elevated coronoid process than in any Whale that I have seen.
“The greatest peculiarity is in the form of the lumbar and anterior
caudal vertebræ; they are of a much more elongate form than any I have
seen or found figured, excepting those of the _Balænoptera rostrata_ (as
figured by Gaimard in ‘Voyage de la Recherche’), which, however, are
relatively shorter. Those of the present species are of greater length
than transverse diameter, the lumbars most elongate; all furnished with
an acute hypapophysial keel and concave sides, and entirely transverse
diapophyses. This peculiarity is consistent with the account of my
informant, who stated the animal to have been of an unusually elongate
and slender form. When it came ashore it had perhaps been dead ten days;
the flukes and muscular region as far as the third caudal vertebra had
been devoured, probably by Sharks and Killers, and the abdominal region
much lacerated; the edge of a fin preserved was slit by the teeth of
some carnivorous enemy. The measurement from the end of the muzzle to
the end of the third caudal was 35 feet, which may be reduced to 33 feet
axial. Up to this point the dorsal line was, according to my informant,
entirely smooth, without knob or fin, or scar of one; hence I suppose
the fin (if present) to have been situated, as in _Sibbaldius_ &c., at
the posterior fourth of the length, and not, as in _Balænoptera_, on the
posterior third. It may then be safely assumed, bearing in mind the form
of vertebræ, that ten feet of the whale’s length had been removed, making
in all 43 feet. That the species attains over 50 feet is probable, as
the present individual was quite young, the epiphyses separating from
the vertebræ with the greatest ease. The slender form of the animal
is corroborated by the slenderness and slight curvature of the ribs,
one attached beneath the scapula, probably the second, being narrower
than the corresponding ones in _Sibbaldius_. I therefore think it most
probable that in this form the anterior ribs are single-headed.”—_Cope_,
_l. c._ p. 223.
1. Agaphelus gibbosus. _The Scrag Whale._
Agaphelus gibbosus, _Cope_.
Balæna gibbosa, _Gray_, _Cat. Seals & Whales_, p. 90.
Scrag Whale, _Dudley_, _Phil. Trans._ xxxiii. p. 259.
Inhab. North Atlantic.
2. RHACHIANECTES.
Rhachianectes, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. N. Sc. Philad._ 1869, pp.
14 & 15.
Cervical vertebræ free. Throat without plaits. Dorsal fin none. Scapula
without acromion.
1. Rhachianectes glaucus. _The Californian Grey Whale._
Rhachianectes glaucus, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. N. Sc. Philad._
1869, pp. 17 & 40, fig. 8.
Agaphelus glaucus, _Cope_, _ibid._ 1868, p. 225.
Inhab. California, San Francisco.
“The points in which this species differs from those of the genus
_Balæna_ previously known are numerous, and will no doubt be increased on
a further knowledge of the animal.
“The head, between one-fourth and one-fifth of the total length,
allies it to the shorter-headed species. From the _B. australis_ the
number of dorsal vertebræ, and the colour and shortness of the baleen,
distinguish it; and no doubt other features will be brought out when
we are acquainted with the Cape species. The dorsal serration is not
known to occur in any species of the genus _Balæna_, though said to be
characteristic of the _A. gibbosus_, whose characters I have just given.
“Two _Balænæ_ have been described as inhabiting the North Pacific
Ocean, _Balæna Sieboldii_, Gray (Catal. Cet. 1865, p. 96), and _Balæna
cullamach_, Chamisso (Nov. Act. Acad. Cæs. xii. p. 251, tab.)
“Both have been established on figures carved by the natives, of the
Japanese and Aleutian Islands respectively, the former under the
supervision of a naturalist, the traveller Siebold. The carving of the
_B. cullamach_, judging from the figure given by Chamisso, can but
doubtfully represent any species; but if the species exist, it will rest
on the following diagnosis of its describer:—‘Rictu amplo forma litteræ
S curvato, elasmiis maximis atro-cæruleis, spiraculis flexuosis, in
medio capite, tuberculo in apice rostri (ex imagine), pectore pinnisque
pectoralibus albis, dorso gibboso sexpinnato.’
“These are, however, true _Balænæ_. A species of _Agaphelus_ exists in
the Kamtschatkan seas, according to Pallas, who, however, derives his
information solely from wooden models made by the Aleutian Islanders.
This is not sufficient basis for an introduction to the scientific
system; yet Pallas indulges in applying to it the name _Balæna
agamachschik_. The pectoral limb of this species is said, however, to be
white, with the underside of the flukes, characters not found in the _A.
glaucus_. Dr. Gray has already (Cat. Brit. Mus.) indicated that this, if
reliable, indicates a genus unknown to him.
“The _Agaphelus glaucus_ is the Grey Whale of the coasts of California.
Two specimens have been examined by my friend Wm. H. Dall, of the
scientific staff of the U. S. Russian-American Telegraph Expedition, one
of them near Monterey; and descriptions, as complete as the state of the
specimens would allow, were made.
“These, which were sent to the Smithsonian Institution, and placed
in my hands by Prof. Baird, are quite sufficient to indicate a Whale
of a species hitherto unnoticed, and to render certain its future
identification.
“Dorsal vertebræ and ribs 13; lumbar and caudal (those in the fluke
cut off with it) 28. Scapula, breadth and height not very different,
with a short broad coracoid process; its head opposite first rib.
Apparently only four fingers, of which the second is the longest. 145
laminæ of baleen on each side, the longest 18 inches long; colour bright
yellow.”—_Cope_, _Proc. Ac. N. Sc. Philad._ 1868, p. 226.
Family 3. MEGAPTERIDÆ. _Humpbacked Whales._
Megapterina, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 113.
Megapteridæ, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2.
Dorsal fin low, broad; pectoral fin very long, with four very long
fingers of many phalanges. Vertebræ 50 or 60; cervical vertebræ often
anchylosed. Lateral process of the axis tardily ossified. Neural canal
large, high, triangular. Ribs 14 or 15.
1. MEGAPTERA.
Megaptera, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 113, 117; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 2; _Lilljeborg_, _N. Acta Upsal._ 1867, vi.
Bladebone without acromion or coracoid process. Body of cervical vertebræ
subcircular.
1. Megaptera longimana.
B.M.
Megaptera longimana, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 119 (fig.), 373;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2.
Megaptera boops, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ tab.
30 (baleen and jaws with rudimentary teeth), t. 33. f. 12
(vertebra).
Inhab. North Sea.
2. Megaptera Novæ-Zelandiæ.
B.M.
Megaptera Novæ-Zelandiæ, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 128, fig. 20;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2.
Inhab. New Zealand. Ear-bones in Brit. Mus.
3. Megaptera? Burmeisteri.
Megaptera? Burmeisteri, _Gray_, _Cat. Seals & Whales_, p. 129.
Megaptera Lalandii (part.), _Van Beneden_, _Ostéogr. Cét._
Inhab. Buenos Ayres. Skeleton, Mus. Buenos Ayres.
4. Megaptera americana.
Megaptera americana, _Gray_, _Cat. Seals & Whales_, p. 129.
Inhab. Bermuda.
“The _norwega_ is a Humpback which has the belly white and smooth (?),
back very dark bluish, length 50 to 55 feet. This whale gives more oil
than the mystica.”—_Hartt_, _Geology & Physical Geography of Brazil_, p.
182.
“The whalebone is short, and sells well. The beach on which the whales
are cut up is strewed during the season with bones. There must be the
bones of 500 whales on the spot. The fishery is carried on at Bahia on a
much larger scale than at Caravellas.”—_L. c._ p. 185.
5. Megaptera kuzira.
Megaptera kuzira, _Gray_, _Cat. Seals & Whales_, p. 130.
Inhab. Japan. Skull, Mus. Leyden.
6. Megaptera osphyia.
Megaptera osphyia, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._
1865, p. 4.
Inhab. Atlantic. Skeleton. Mus. Niagara.
“A second and more full examination of the _Megaptera osphyia_, Cope,
furnishes the following additional points and characters. The specimen is
young, and measures in its present condition 34 feet. It has, however,
lost a considerable number of caudal vertebræ, and, from the posterior
part of the column, of intervertebral cartilages also; add to this the
shrinking of the cartilages preserved, and the increase of length would
perhaps amount to 8 feet, giving 42 in all. The asserted length of 50
feet, line measurement, which I quoted in my original description, is no
doubt an exaggeration.
“The glenoid process is margined by an angular prominence, the rudiment
of the coracoid, precisely as in the _M. brasiliensis_. The diapophysis
of the atlas is a flat vertical plate, extending from opposite the base
of the _foramen dentatum_ to opposite the widest point of the spinal
canal; inferior posterior outline of the atlas broad, slightly concave
mesially. The mandible is peculiar in the strong angular process,
which extends from behind, round the side, projecting as far as the
condyle, and separated from it by a deep groove. The third and fourth
cervicals are united by the neural arch. The first rib is very broad at
the extremity; length 37 inches, width at end 8·22 inches. The orbital
processes of the frontal bone are not contracted at the extremities
as in _M. longimana_, but are more as in _Balænopteræ_; entire width
over and within edge of orbit 15½ in.; length to vertical plate of
maxillary 31 inches. The baleen measures 2 feet in length, is black,
with three rows of coarse bristles. Its base is one curve; its length
is spirally twisted. The species is probably one of the largest of the
_Balænidæ_.”—_Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._ 1868, p. 194.
7. Megaptera versabilis.
Megaptera versabilis, _Cope_, _Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil._ 1869,
p. 17, figs. 5 & 6.
Inhab. North Pacific, Californian coast.
2. POESCOPIA.
Poescopia, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 113; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p.
2.
Bladebone with small coracoid process. Body of cervical vertebræ nearly
square.
1. Poescopia Lalandii.
B.M.
Poescopia Lalandii, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 126 (fig. 19, p.
125), 373; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2, tab. 33. f. 3, 4
(vertebræ, from _Cuvier_).
Inhab. Cape of Good Hope. Skeleton, Mus. Paris.
3. ESCHRICHTIUS.
Eschrichtius, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 113, 131; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 2; _Lilljeborg_, _N. Acta Upsal._ vi. p. 12, 1867.
Bladebone with large coracoid process. Body of cervical vertebræ
separate, small, roundish-oblong. The neural canal very broad and high.
1. Eschrichtius robustus.
B.M.
Eschrichtius robustus, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 133 (fig.), 373;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2; _Lilljeborg_, _N. Acta Upsal._
1867, vi. p. 16, t. 1-8; _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philad._ 1865, p. 4.
Inhab. North Sea; coast of Devonshire, Sweden; Atlantic.
“The _Eschrichtius robustus_ is admitted on the evidence of a ramus of
the under jaw in the Museum, Rutger’s College, which is of peculiar form,
and closely resembles the figure given by Lilljeborg of that portion of
this rare species.”—_Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad._ 1868, p. 194.
Family 4. PHYSALIDÆ. _Finner Whales._
Physalina, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 114, 134.
Physalinidæ, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2.
Dorsal fin high, erect, compressed, falcate, about three-fourths the
entire length from the nose. Pectoral fin moderate, with four short
fingers of four or six phalanges. Vertebræ 55 or 64. Cervical vertebræ
not anchylosed. Neural canal oblong, transverse.
* _Vertebræ 60 or 64; first rib single-headed_ (cf. p. 54).
1. BENEDENIA.
Benedenia, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 114, 135; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 2.
Rostrum of skull narrow, attenuated, with straight slanting edges. Second
cervical vertebra with two short truncated lateral processes. The first
rib single-headed.
1. Benedenia Knoxii.
B.M.
Benedenia Knoxii, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 138, figs. 24-26;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2.
Benedenia boops, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ tab. 32. f.
1, 2 (cervical vertebræ).
Inhab. North Sea, coast of Wales.
2. PHYSALUS.
Physalus, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 114, 139; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 2; _Lilljeborg_, _N. Acta Upsal._ 1867, p. 72.
Rostrum of the skull narrow, attenuated, with straight sloping sides.
Second cervical vertebra with a broad lateral process, with a large
perforation at the base. First rib single-headed. Sternum trifoliate,
with a long slender hind process. Fingers shorter than the forearm-bones.
Scapula very broad; acromion and coracoid process well developed.
† _Lateral rings of the second cervical vertebra as long as the diameter
of the body of the vertebra._—Gray, _l. c._ p. 374; Synops. Whales &
Dolph. p. 2.
1. Physalus antiquorum.
B.M.
Ribs 14·14.
Physalus antiquorum, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 144 (figs. 29-32),
374; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2, t. 1. f. 6 (baleen), t.
32. f. 5, 6 (cervical vertebræ); _Flower_, _P. Z. S._ 1869, p.
604, pl. 47 (male).
Balænoptera musculus, _Van Beneden_, _Ostéogr. Cét._ t. 12 & t.
13. figs. 11-24.
Inhab. North Sea, Greenland, Hampshire, &c.
2. Physalus Duguidii.
Ribs 15·15.
Physalus Duguidii, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 158, figs. 33-35;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2.
Inhab. North Sea, Orkneys.
†† _The lateral rings of the cervical vertebræ shorter than the diameter
of the bodies of the vertebræ._—Gray, _l. c._ p. 374; Synops. Whales &
Dolph. p. 2.
3. Physalus patachonicus.
Physalus patachonicus, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 374, figs. 76-86;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 2.
Inhab. River Plata.
4. Physalus brasiliensis.
B.M.
Physalus brasiliensis, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 162.
Balænoptera brasiliensis, _Gray_, _Zool. Ereb. & Ter._ p. 5.
Inhab. Bahia.
“_Mystica_ differs from the _norwega_ in having the back black and the
belly and throat furrowed. Sometimes there are white spots on the side.
“The first Whales appear in the Abrolhos waters at about the end of May,
and they stay until October. The females often bring young calves with
them, and appear to seek the shelter of the reefs. The headquarters of
the Abrolhos fishery is at Caravellas, or, rather, at the mouth of the
river Caravellas, where are situated the armações or trying-houses.”—_E.
Hartt_, _Geology and Physical Geography of Brazil_, p. 182.
“The fishery begins at Bahia, according to Castelnau (Expédition dans
l’Amérique du Sud, tome i. p. 750), about the 13th of June, and lasts
till the 21st September. At Caravellas I was assured that the Whales
always appeared later than at Bahia, and the fishery does not always
begin until the last week in June, continuing through the month of
September.”—_E. Hartt._
3. CUVIERIUS.
Cuvierius, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 114, 164; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 3.
Rostrum of the skull broad, the outer sides curved, especially in
front. The second cervical vertebra with two short, thick lateral
processes. First rib single-headed. Sternum oblong-ovate, transverse.
Hands elongate; fingers slender, second finger much longer than the
forearm-bone. Scapula with a broad acromion and a rudimentary coracoid.
1. Cuvierius Sibbaldii.
B.M.
Cuvierius Sibbaldii, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 380; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 3.
Cuvierius latirostris, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 165.
Physalus Sibbaldii, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 160 (fig. 36), 380.
Balænoptera Sibbaldii, _Van Beneden_, _Ostéogr. Cét._ t. 12 &
t. 13. figs. 25-34.
Balænoptera carolinæ, _Malm_, _Monog. Illust._ t. 44.
Balænoptera musculus, _Sars_, _Vid. Selsk. Forhand._ 1865, t.
1, 2, & 3.
“Steypireyör,” _Reinhardt_, _Vidensk. Meddel._ 1867; _Ann. N.
Hist._ 1868.
The Grey Fin Whale, _Turner_, _Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin._ 1869, p.
34 (from Londonderry).
Inhab. North Sea. Mus. Hull.
The great northern Rorqual of Knox probably belongs to this species. Its
skeleton is in the Edinburgh Museum.
** _Vertebræ 58-60. First and second ribs double-headed_ (cf. p. 52);
_second cervical vertebræ with a broad lateral process, perforated at the
base. Lower jaw compressed, with distinct coronoid process._—Sibbaldius,
_Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 114, 169; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 3.
4. RUDOLPHIUS.
Rudolphius, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 170; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._
p. 3.
Sibbaldius, _Lilljeborg_, _Nova Acta Upsal._ vi. 1867.
Dorsal fin compressed, falcate, two-thirds the entire length from the
nose. Ribs 13·13; first rib short, dilated at the external end. Sternum
elongate, not narrow at posterior lobe. Fingers elongate; the second
finger rather shorter than the forearm-bone. Scapula very broad, with a
large broad acromion process and a moderate coracoid one.
1. Rudolphius laticeps.
B.M.
Sibbaldius laticeps, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 170, figs. 37, 38.
Rudolphius laticeps, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 3.
Balænoptera laticeps, _Van Beneden_, _Ostéogr. Cét._ t. 10 & t.
11. figs. 11-35.
Inhab. North Sea.
Nose of skull more than twice the length of brain-cavity from the nasal
bones.
5. SIBBALDIUS.
Sibbaldius, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 175, 1865; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 3.
Flowerius, _Lilljeborg_, _Nova Acta Upsal._ vi. 1867.
Dorsal fin very small, far behind, and placed on a thick prominence. Ribs
14·14; first short, sternal end very broad and deeply notched. Sternum
trifoliate, with a short broad hinder lobe. Scapula broad, with very long
acromion and short slender coracoid process. Fingers ⸺?
1. Sibbaldius borealis.
Sibbaldius borealis, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 175, fig. 39; _Synops.
Whales & Dolph._ p. 3.
Flowerius gigas, _Lilljeborg_, _Nova Acta Upsal._ vi. 1867.
Inhab. North Sea.
Mr. Flower considers _B. borealis_, Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad.
1866, p. 297, from North Atlantic, as very nearly allied to _Balænoptera
Schlegelii_.
2. Sibbaldius Schlegelii.
Sibbaldius Schlegelii, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 178, figs. 40-48;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 3.
Balænoptera Schlegelii, _Van Beneden_, _Ostéogr. Cét._ t. 14 &
15.
Inhab. Java.
Cervical vertebræ separate (t. 14. f. 5-12); the second with a broad
short lateral expansion, having a moderate-sized oblong perforation. Beak
of skull very long, three and a half times the length of the brain-cavity.
3. Sibbaldius? antarcticus.
Sibbaldius? antarcticus, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 381, fig. 87;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 3.
Balænoptera antarctica, _Van Beneden_, _Ostéogr. Cét._ p. 234.
Inhab. Buenos Ayres.
Van Beneden regards it as a doubtful species.
4. Sibbaldius sulphureus.
Sibbaldius sulphureus, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._
1869, pp. 10, 19, f. 11.
Sulphur-bottom _of the Whalers on the North-west Coast_.
Dorsal fin very far back.
Inhab. North Pacific, north-west coast of America, California.
5. Sibbaldius tectirostris.
Sibbaldius tectirostris, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philad._ 1869, p. 7.
Inhab. North Pacific. Skeleton, Mus. Philad.
6. Sibbaldius tuberosus.
Sibbaldius tuberosus, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._
1867, p. ⸺.
Sibbaldius laticeps, _Cope_, _l. c._ 1866, p. 297.
Inhab. North-east coast of America.
Family 5. BALÆNOPTERIDÆ. _Pike Whales._
Balænopterina, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 114.
Balænoptera, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 114; _Lilljeborg_, _Nova Acta
Upsal._ vi.
Balænopteridæ, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 3.
Dorsal fin high, erect, compressed, about two-thirds of the entire length
from the nose. Pectoral fin moderate, with four short fingers. Vertebræ
50; cervical vertebræ sometimes anchylosed. Neural canal broad, trigonal.
Ribs 11·11. The second cervical vertebra with a broad lateral expansion,
perforated at the base. First rib single-headed. Lower jaw with a conical
coronoid process.
1. BALÆNOPTERA.
Balænoptera, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 114, 186; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 3.
Fabricia, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 382.
The lower lateral processes of the third to the seventh cervical vertebræ
with an angular projection on the lower edges. Fingers short, the length
of the forearm-bone.
Scapula broad; acromion and coracoid elongate, slender.
1. Balænoptera rostrata.
B.M.
Balænoptera rostrata, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 188, figs. 49-53;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 3, t. 1. f. 5 (baleen), t. 2
(skull), t. 32. f. 3, 4 (cervical vertebræ); _Van Beneden_,
_Ostéogr. Cét._ t. 12 & t. 13. figs. 1-10.
Inhab. North Sea.
2. Balænoptera velifera.
Balænoptera velifera, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._
1869, p. 18, f. 9, 10.
Dorsal fin large.
Inhab. Oregon (Finner Whale); California, Queen Charlotte’s Sound.
2. SWINHOIA.
Swinhoia, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 382; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p.
3.
The lower lateral processes of the third to the sixth cervical vertebræ
slender, regularly curved, without any prominent angle on the lower edge.
1. Swinhoia chinensis.
B.M.
Balænoptera Swinhoei, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 382, figs. 88-93.
Swinhoia chinensis, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 3.
Inhab. Formosa.