RIGHT WHALES 205 



Genus Bcdcena. 



THE GREENLAND RIGHT WHALE {Balcena mysticetus). 



Fig. 60. 



The most valuable and accurate description of the Green- 

 land Right Whale is that contained in William Scoresby's 

 ' Account of the Arctic Regions ', published in 1820. We are 

 indebted to this authority more than to any other for the 

 knowledge we have of this now very rare whale. The descrip- 

 tion which follows is derived almost entirely from Scoresby's 

 work. 



The body has its greatest circumference just behind the 

 fins, from whence it gradually tapers in a conical form towards 

 the tail. " It is cylindrical to within 10 feet of the tail, 

 beyond which it becomes quadrangular, the greatest ridge being 

 upwards or on the back and running backwards nearly across 

 the middle of the tail." " The head is somewhat triangular 

 in shape ; the under part, the arched outline of which is given 

 by the jaw bone, is flat, and measures 16 to 20 feet in length 

 and 10 to 12 feet in breadth. The lips extend 15 or 20 feet 

 in length and 5 or 6 feet in height, and form the cavity of the 

 mouth, are attached to the under jaw and rise from the jaw 

 bone at an angle of about 8o°, having the appearance, when 

 viewed in front, of the letter U ". The greatly narrowed 

 upper jaw is bent down at its free end to fit into the space 

 between the lower lips. The flippers are large and broad, and 

 differ markedly from the tapering form found in the Rorquals. 

 The tail flukes, according to Scoresby, measure 18 to 24 or 

 26 feet from tip to tip, and are 5 to 6 feet in length. The 

 blowhole, situated on the most elevated part of the head, is 

 about 16 feet behind the anterior extremity of the jaw. It 

 consists of two longitudinal apertures 6 to 8 inches in length. 

 The whalebone in this species has an average length of 10 to 

 n feet, and each "side'' of whalebone consists of more than 

 300 plates. The whalebone is longest nearest the middle of 

 the " side " and diminishes in size towards either end. The 

 greatest width of the whalebone, which is at the gum, is 10 

 or 12 inches. Scoresby mentions blades 15 feet long, but says 

 that even 13 feet is " a magnitude seldom met with ". 



