Order CETACEA.

Teeth all similar, conical, sometimes not developed. Palate often furnished with transverse plates of baleen or whalebone. Body fish-shaped, smooth, bald. Limbs clawless; fore limbs fin-shaped; hinder united, forming a forked horizontal fin. Nostrils enlarged into blowers. Teats two, inguinal.—Carnivorous.

They may be divided by the form of the pectoral fin, thus:—

I. Pectoral fin broad, truncated or rounded at the end; fingers 5, shorter than the arm-bones, subequal, gradually shorter in the series.—Balænidæ, Catodontidæ, Susoidea, Orcadæ, Belugidæ, Pontoporiadæ, Hyperoodontidæ, Epiodontidæ, Ziphiidæ.

II. Pectoral fin elongate, obliquely truncated on the inner side; fingers 5, elongate, longer than the arm-bones, the second and third much longer than the rest.—Iniidæ, Delphinidæ, Grampidæ, Globiocephalidæ.

III. Pectoral fin elongate, truncated on the inner side; fingers 4, subequal, more or less elongate.—Agaphælidæ, Megapteridæ, Physalidæ, Balænopteridæ.

By the adhesion or non-adhesion of the cervical vertebræ, thus:—

1. Atlas distinct, the other six cervical vertebræ united by their bodies and spines into a single mass.

Mysticetes.

Denticetes.

2. Atlas and cervical vertebræ all united into one solid mass.

3. The atlas, axis, and generally one or two other vertebræ united; the hinder ones sometimes free.

4. Atlas and the other cervical vertebræ entirely free.

Section I. MYSTICETE (cf. p. 57).

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.

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 cranium58
Weight of lower jaw13
ft.in.
Length49
Fronto-nasal section210
To centre of orbit310
Width at orbit25
Width at mastoid process27
in.lin.
Lower jaw, high311
Depth (greatest)80
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.

Section II. DENTICETE (cf. p. 35).

Denticete, Gray, l. c. pp. 62, 194; Synops. Whales & Dolph. p. 3.

Odontoceti or Delphinoidea, Flower, l. c. p. 111.

Teeth well developed in one or both jaws, sometimes deciduous. Palate without baleen. Head large or moderate, compressed. Tympanic bones two, dissimilar, separate, becoming united, sunk in a cavity in the base of the skull. Gullet large.

The suborders in this section have certain relations to each other by which they may be arranged in two parallel series:—

A. Nostrils separate, elongated.B. Nostrils united, transverse.
Teeth only in the lower jaw. Cervical vertebræ often unitedPhyseteroidea.Ziphioidea.
Teeth well developed in both jaws. Jaws beakedSusuoidea.Delphinoidea.

Division I. Nostrils longitudinal, parallel or diverging; each covered with a valve (cf. [p. 62]).