This skeleton was mounted recently and placed on exhibition in the Museum. The flippers were modeled from those of the St. George Island specimens (which were also imperfect) and from the figures of B. arnuxii given by Flower. The end of the beak was also restored, and a facsimile of the teeth substituted for the real ones. This remarkable skeleton shows in a manner hitherto unapproached the great size which this genus of ziphioid whales attains, and the peculiar conformation of the body. While the vertebræ rival those of the large whalebone whales, such as the Humpbacks, in their dimensions, the head is remarkable for its small size as compared with the immense proportions of the same part in the Right whales. ([Pl. 42], fig. 4.)
Mr. Ring sent to the Museum three photographs of the Californian specimen above mentioned, two of which are reproduced on [Pl. 42], figs. 2 and 3. Although rather indistinct, they show the general form of the body, the peculiar bulbous head, with an indication of a neck, and the long beak.
DESCRIPTION OF A YOUNG BERING ISLAND SPECIMEN.
Doctor Stejneger has very kindly placed in my hands his original notes on the young individual examined by him in Bering Island June 5, 1883 (Cat. No. 142,188) and they are given below in full:
When the news reached me that a small “plavum” was found dead ashore at the North Rookery of Bering Island, I immediately ordered dogs, and arrived at the place in company with the “starost.” The carcass was found lying on the very beach where the fur seals during the summer occupy the ground. As the bulk of the seals had not yet arrived, only a few “sikatschi” were seen in the immediate neighborhood, but it was reported that they had retired from the place on account of the smell of the putrefied body, as it was thought. The natives, fearing that it would drive the seals from the rookery altogether if left on the beach any longer, were very anxious to get it away as fast as possible, and it was only with some hesitation that they would allow one to stand on the rookery long enough to take a few measurements. The animal was quite a young one, and I conjectured that it had died immediately after having been born, as I think there were some remains of the umbilical cord. Hardly any of the bones were fully ossified. Under these circumstances, it was out of the question to have the whole skeleton preserved, as the dismembering and the separation of the putrified flesh from the bones and cartilages would require more care and consequently more time than the natives were willing to allow. I was therefore glad to secure the head and some of the neck vertebræ. Even that tried their patience, as the head was going to separate into its single bones and the not yet united component pieces, and consequently needed special care and attention.
The carcass was lying with the back upward, this visible part being uniform black, and still in such a state as to allow of measuring. The lower surface was in a very advanced state of decomposition. Part of the belly was torn away, together with the entrails, and the genitalia and anus were not to be found. As stated above, I think that I could recognize the umbilical cord attached to a tatter of the skin. Of course, measurements of the lower side and of the circumference of the body, except at the narrowest place of the tail, could not be taken.
Table of dimensions.
| Meters. | |
|---|---|
| Total length from tip of upper jaw to notch of caudal fin, along the middle of the back, without, however, following the angle between beak and forehead | 4.81 |
| From tip of upper jaw to fore border of spiracles | .53 |
| From fore border of the spiracles to fore border of dorsal fin | 2.63 |
| Length of dorsal fin | .29 |
| Height of dorsal fin | .11 |
| From hind border of dorsal fin to the beginning of the caudal fin | .93 |
| From the same point to notch of the caudal fin | 1.36 |
| Distance between the tips of the lobes of the caudal fin | .91 |
| Depth of the angle of the posterior margin of caudal fin | .20 |
| From tip of upper jaw to the angle of mouth | .36 |
| From the same to anterior angle of eye | .475 |
| Diameter of eye opening | .06 |
| From eye to eye over the spiracle | .59 |
| Distance between ends of spiracle | .08 |
| Length of beak from the forehead | .23 |
| Breadth of the beak at the forehead | .18 |
| From tip of upper jaw to anterior insertion of the pectoral fin | .80 |
| Pectoral fin along the anterior border | .51 |
| Breadth of pectoral fina at the insertion | .20 |
| Circumference of tail at its narrowest point, just before the caudal fin | .62 |
a The pectoral fin rather straight, of equal breadth, and abruptly ending.
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION OF BERARDIUS BAIRDII.
The original description of B. bairdii by Doctor Stejneger is as follows: