104 The Scottish Naturalist. 



evidence to be otherwise, as it could hardly, in historical times 

 at any rate, have frequented our seas in company with ice or 

 ice-berg?. 



Sibbald states in his "Phalainologia" that a specimen of this 

 whale was thrown ashore at Peterhead, in 1682, 70 feet in 

 length. It may be observed that this is a rather unusual size 

 fcr a Greenland Whale, and one would imagine, judging from 

 the size, that it was more likely to have been an example of 

 Physalus a?itiquorum, or other large finner. Of the former 

 Scoresbysays that of 322 individuals he had seen killed, not one, 

 he believed, exceeded 60 feet in length, and the longest to 

 appearance he ever saw measured 58 feet. Sibbald's statement 

 appears to be the main ground on which the whale in question 

 has been admitted into all the works on British animals pub- 

 lished since his time. No doubt Bell* states, on the authority of 

 Mr. Barclay, "that it is occasionally seen on the coast of Zeatland, 

 and several of this species have run aground, or have been found 

 dead at sea." Unfortunately, none of the bones of these whales 

 seem to have been preserved, to decide the question as to what 

 species they really belong. Besides it may perhaps be fairly 

 questioned whether any of these specimens were examined with 

 a sufficient degree of care to establish their identity, and to de- 

 termine acurately whether, for instance, they were Greenland 

 or Biscay whales (Balcena biscayensis Esch.,) which is another 

 finless species. We may, I think, on the whole, dismiss this as 

 an instance of mistaken identity, which in the case of whales, as 

 well as in other things, is apt to happen with the best of people. 

 Although, of course, it is not impossible that the Greenland 

 whale may have accidentally reached the British seas in recent 

 times, comparatively speaking, still it must be confessed that 

 the evidence as to its doing so is of the most meagre kind. In 

 fact, of the two species above-mentioned, biscayensis, from its 

 habits, was by far the most likely of the two to strand on our 

 coast. 



MEGAPTEBA LONGIMANA Gray.-JoHNSTON's HUMP- 

 BACKED Whale. 

 This whale appears to be somewhat rare on the coast of Europe. 



* British Quadrupeds. 



