RIGHT WHALES 217 



Genus Neobalcena. 



THE PIGMY RIGHT WHALE {Neobalcena marginata). 

 Fig. 62. 



Neobalcena is in many ways nearly connected with the larger 

 Right Whales, with which it agrees in the fusion of the 7 neck 

 vertebrae, in the absence of pleats or grooving on the throat, 

 and in the possession of long, slender, flexible whalebone. As 

 its name implies, however, it is characterized by its diminutive 

 size compared with its closest relatives. When fully grown it 

 attains a length of only about 20 feet, and further differs from 

 the other Right Whales in the possession of a small recurved 

 fin on the back. Little is known concerning its external 

 appearance, but the colour of a female specimen from Stewart 

 Island, New Zealand, was described as " black with a light 

 stripe on the belly ". The colour of the baleen of this specimen 

 was yellowish-white with a dark margin, and 230 plates of this 

 whalebone composed a " side ". Lydekker, in his description 

 of the whalebone of this species, says that it is more flexible, 

 more elastic and tougher than that of any other ; and that if it 

 could be obtained in any quantity it would fetch a higher price 

 in the market than that of the Greenland Whale. The flipper 

 of Neobalcena is small and narrow, and has only 4 digits 

 developed within it. The head is about one-quarter of the 

 total length of the animal. It is not within the scope of this 

 book to deal exhaustively with internal body structure, but 

 the peculiar ribs of the Pigmy Right Whale are certainly 

 worthy of notice. It has a greater number than any other 

 whale, and they extend tailwards further than in any related 

 species, so that only two vertebrae intervene between those 

 that bear ribs and those composing the tail. The individual 

 ribs become increasingly broadened and flattened towards the 

 tail, so that in the living animal they must provide an almost 

 continuous protection for the underlying viscera. 



The distribution of the Pigmy Right Whale is confined to 

 southern seas ; it is known from New Zealand, Australia 

 and South America. It is.by no means a commonly-occurring 

 species, and little or nothing is known of its habits. It has no 

 economic importance. Known also from South Africa. 



