AiiT. 14. THE SKULL OF MEGAPTERA MIOCAENA KELLOGG. 3 



I am indebted to Mr. Charles W. Gilmore, of the Department of 

 Vertebrate Palaeontology of the United States National Museum, 

 for the opportunity to describe this specimen, and wish to express 

 my cordial thanks to him for this privilege and for the kindly in- 

 terest he has shown. The drawings in the text have been carefully 

 made by Mrs. Frieda Abernath^^ under the supervision of Mr. E. L. 

 Furlong. 



DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES. 

 MEGAPTERA MIOCAENA, new species. 



Tijpe.—Cixt. No. 10300, U.S.N.M. This specimen consists of an 

 incomplete skull, including the posterior (cranial) region, the squa- 

 mosals, the supraorbital processes of the frontals, and the poste- 

 rior half of the maxilla on the left side. The palatal region and 

 the scaphoid fossae are imperfect, while most of the rostrum as 

 well as the maxilla on the right side are missing. The external 

 side of the right tympanic was badly broken, though a sufficient 

 number of. fragments were located to enable accurate restoration of 

 this element. The right periotic is practically perfect. 



Type locality. — In uncharted township one-half mile northwest 

 of northeast corner of tovrnship 6 north, range 34 west (Lompoc 

 Quadrangle), on top of divide between drainage of San Miguelito 

 Creek and Salsipuedes Creek. 3 miles south and east of Lompoc. 

 Santa Barbara County, California. 



Horizon. — The skull was first discovered by workmen quarrying 

 diatomaceous earth, about 150 feet below the exposed surface of the 

 bed. As considerable erosion had occurred at this point and as the 

 beds are approximately 1,000 feet thick, it will be impossible to 

 state the exact level until the base of the bed is reached in the course 

 of operations of the Celite Products Company. These beds of 

 diatomaceous earth are considered to be equivalent to the Temblor 

 or Lower Miocene. This specimen was excavated and packed for 

 shipment to Washington, District of Columbia, on July 15, 1919, 

 b}'^ W. S. W. Kew, of the LTnited States Geological Survey, assisted 

 by Edward J. Porteous. of the Celite Products Company. 



SKULL. 



In the present paper it is proposed to give a detailed description 

 of certain bones in the skull. As will be observed from the descrip- 

 tion, this skull exhibits some interesting characters for a humpback 

 whale. In comparison with other members of the Balaenopteridae, 

 the skull (pi. 1) is remarkably broad and flat when viewed from 

 below, approaching Megaptera nodosa more closely than any other 

 known fossil or living whale. 



