44 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



are, respectively, 44-1 and 447 feet. The females are thus 

 but a trifle the larger {cf. Fig. 13). There is, however, a 

 notable difference in some parts of the scale, and especially 

 between 50 and 55 feet, where the females markedly pre- 

 dominate ; in the still larger sizes this predominance is not 

 maintained so far as our present data go. This we see in 

 the following short table : 



One female is recorded as measuring 72 feet in length, 

 the next largest being only 61 feet. The former is said 

 to have, been caught fifty miles north-west of St Kilda, in 

 July 1911 ; but 72 feet is so exceptional, or rather so un- 

 precedented, a length for a Sei-whale that one cannot help 

 suspecting a possible mistake in the record. The largest 

 Sei-whales recorded by Mr Haldane during the years 1904- 

 1907 were 59 feet for a male, and 57 feet for a female. We 

 must note, however, in regard to our alleged 72-feet specimen, 

 that several other Sei-whales are recorded from the same 

 locality and the same month, nearly all of them being very 

 much over the average size. Their lengths are recorded as 

 follows: Males, 58, 60, 60 feet; females, 43, 48, 50, 56, 61, 

 72 feet. We are hardly entitled to reject the last of these, 

 unless we are prepared at the same time to cast doubt on 

 the measurements or the identification of the whole batch. 

 The size of Rudolphi's whale has been generally understated. 

 For instance, we are told in the British Museum " Guide to 

 the Whales, Porpoises, etc. " (1909) that it "never exceeds 

 50 feet in length," and Mr Southwell says it " seldom exceeds 

 48 feet." 



The largest that I can find in Mr Haldane's notes are 

 a male of 56 feet and a female of 57 feet, both caught in 

 1906; but of Sei-whales of 50 feet and over he has a fair 

 number. 



It is noteworthy that in the case of the Sei-whale, the 

 ratio of girth to length is practically identical with what we 



