Besides an Orca, which is said to visit the rookeries, but of which I have not been able to procure any specimen, or even to see one, there are at least two species of the family Ziphiidæ, both undescribed, as I suppose. I am very much indebted to Mr. Grebnitzki for a skull of each of the species, for one of which I should like to propose the name Berardius bairdii, as a slight token of my esteem and gratitude.
As I am now almost without any literary means, I find it impossible to decide with certainty in what genus this species will finally have to be placed. But I think that the supposition that this specimen (No. 1520) is a young Berardius may not be far out of the way. At first I suspected that it is a Dioplodon, but the size of the skull, in connection with the distinctness of the sutures, the evident maxillary crests, and the terminal position of the teeth very soon led me to the above conclusion.
The specimen in question has very low and scarcely incurved maxillary crests; the shortest distance of which is two and two-thirds times greater than their greatest height, and although it still is in its “adolescent” stage, I should greatly doubt whether the crests in this species ever become developed to such a degree as, for instance, in Hyperoödon diodon (Lacép.). The groove between the maxillary and the nuchal crest is very shallow. The maxillary notch is deep. The beak is long, making only a little less than half the length of the entire skull. Nares straight; right nasal larger than the left one, but not very much. The occipital condyles do not come in contact beneath the foramen magnum; the symphysis of the lower jaw is very short, amounting to only one-fifth of the whole length of the jaw.
Want of time and books prevents me from making more extended remarks, and until I can present an exhaustive and comparative description, I shall have to content myself by giving a provisional table of dimensions. The following dimensions are in millimeters and English inches, and are in every case measured in a straight line:
mm. in. Length of skull 1,405 55.32 Greatest breadth 698 27.48 Greatest height 530 20.87 Length from process of supramaxillaries before orbit to posterior edge of condyles 610 24.02 Length from same process to tip of beak 890 35.04 Depth of maxillary notch 50 1.97 Length of premaxillaries 1,222 48.11 Premaxillaries reach beyond supramaxillaries 134 5.28 Distance of upper edge of maxillary crests at their anterior end 228 8.98 Distance of same at their middle 358 14.10 Greatest height of maxillary crests 86 3.39 Length of visible part of vomer 325 12.80 Distance from anterior tip of vomer to tip of beak 275 10.83 Length of pterygoids 295 11.62 Height of foramen magnum 70 2.76 Width of foramen magnum 80 3.15 Distance of condyles at upper edge of foramen magnum 100 3.94 Closest approximation of condyles beneath the foramen magnum 2 0.08 Entire length of lower jaw 1,292 50.88 Height of lower jaw at second tooth groove 100 3.94 Length of symphysis 257 10.12 Greatest diameter of foremost tooth groove (longitudinal) 100 3.94 Shortest diameter of foremost tooth groove (transverse) 45 1.77 Greatest diameter of posterior tooth groove (longitudinal) 40 1.58 Shortest diameter of posterior tooth groove (transverse) 35 1.38 Distance between the tooth grooves 65 2.56 This specimen was found stranded in Stare Gavan, on the eastern shore of Bering Island in the fall of last year, and only the skull was preserved. From analogy I should judge that the entire length of the animal must have been about 18 feet (5½ meters). This species is well known by the natives for the cathartic quality of the blubber, resembling in this respect the Atlantic “Dögling,” or “Anarnak” (Hyperoödon diodon). The Russian name, by which the inhabitants here designate this whale, is Pla-un (sp. Pläoon), while the Aleut name is Kigan agalusoch, the meaning of which is said to be “having teeth on the nose,” a very inappropriate designation, as the teeth are situated on the tip of the lower jaw, and not on the nose.[53]
| mm. | in. | |
| Length of skull | 1,405 | 55.32 |
| Greatest breadth | 698 | 27.48 |
| Greatest height | 530 | 20.87 |
| Length from process of supramaxillaries before orbit to posterior edge of condyles | 610 | 24.02 |
| Length from same process to tip of beak | 890 | 35.04 |
| Depth of maxillary notch | 50 | 1.97 |
| Length of premaxillaries | 1,222 | 48.11 |
| Premaxillaries reach beyond supramaxillaries | 134 | 5.28 |
| Distance of upper edge of maxillary crests at their anterior end | 228 | 8.98 |
| Distance of same at their middle | 358 | 14.10 |
| Greatest height of maxillary crests | 86 | 3.39 |
| Length of visible part of vomer | 325 | 12.80 |
| Distance from anterior tip of vomer to tip of beak | 275 | 10.83 |
| Length of pterygoids | 295 | 11.62 |
| Height of foramen magnum | 70 | 2.76 |
| Width of foramen magnum | 80 | 3.15 |
| Distance of condyles at upper edge of foramen magnum | 100 | 3.94 |
| Closest approximation of condyles beneath the foramen magnum | 2 | 0.08 |
| Entire length of lower jaw | 1,292 | 50.88 |
| Height of lower jaw at second tooth groove | 100 | 3.94 |
| Length of symphysis | 257 | 10.12 |
| Greatest diameter of foremost tooth groove (longitudinal) | 100 | 3.94 |
| Shortest diameter of foremost tooth groove (transverse) | 45 | 1.77 |
| Greatest diameter of posterior tooth groove (longitudinal) | 40 | 1.58 |
| Shortest diameter of posterior tooth groove (transverse) | 35 | 1.38 |
| Distance between the tooth grooves | 65 | 2.56 |
SIZE.
It will be observed that the largest of the foregoing specimens measured 40 feet 2 inches in length, while the Centerville skeleton was reported to be about 41 feet long. The largest example of the New Zealand species, B. arnuxii, of which there is a record was 32 feet long.
COLORATION.
The St. George Island specimens were reported to be black on the back and white below, but it is not certain how long they had been dead when found by Mr. Judge. The young individual examined by Doctor Stejneger was also black on the back, but this was in a state of decomposition.
The color of the type-specimen of Berardius arnuxii was described by Arnoux as follows: “Its color was entirely black, except for a light gray area near the genital organs; it was a male.”[54] Haast remarks of a young individual observed by him near New Brighton, New Zealand, and not in a fresh condition: “The color of the whole animal was of a deep, velvety black, with the exception of the lower portion of the belly, which had a grayish color.”[55]
The color of the immature male of B. arnuxii captured in Wellington Harbor, New Zealand, in 1877, and described by Hector, was as follows: “The colour was black with a purple hue, except a narrow band along the belly, which was grey. The muzzle, flippers, and tail lobes were intensely black.”[56]
It is not likely that there is any marked difference in the color of arnuxii and bairdii, but the data available are insufficient for the determination of the matter. It will be observed, however, that Mr. Judge stated that the male bairdii found on St. George Island was white below, while in all the accounts of arnuxii the color of the under surface is given as blackish, with a restricted area of gray.
Besides its apparently greater size, Berardius bairdii differs from B. arnuxii in various cranial and other osteological characters, as well as in external proportions, and is to be regarded as a distinct species. The external measurements of the St. George Island specimens reduced to percentages of the total length and compared with similar measurements of a specimen of B. arnuxii described by Hector, are as follows: