66 BULLETIN 73, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



This Bpecimen was found stranded in Stare Gavan, on the eastern shore of Bering Island in the fall 

 of last year, and only the skull was preserved. From analogy I should judge that the entire length of 

 the animal must have been about 18 feet (5* meters). This species is well known by the natives for the 

 cathartic quality of the blubber, resembling in this respect the Atlantic ' ' Dogling, ' ' or " Anarnak ' ' {Uypcr- 

 oodon diodon). The Russian name, by which the inhabitants here designate this whale, is Pla-un 

 (sp. Pliioon), while the Aleut name is Kigan agulusoch, the meaning of which is said to be "having 

 teeth on the nose," a very inappropriate designation, as the teeth are situated on the tip of the lower 

 jaw, and not on the nose." 



SIZE. 



It will be observed that the largest of the foregoing specimens measured 40 

 feet 2 inches in length, wliile the Centerville skeleton was reported to be about 41 

 feet long. The largest example of the New Zealand species, B. arnuxii, of which 

 there is a record was 32 feet long. 



COLORATION. 



The St. George Island specimens were reported to be black on the back and 

 white below, but it is not certain how long they had been dead when foimd by Mr. 

 Judge. The young individual examined by Doctor Stejneger was also black on 

 the back, but this was in a state of decomposition. 



The color of the type-specimen of Berardius arnuxii was described by Arnoux 

 as follows: "Its color was entirely black, except for a light graj^ area near the genital 

 organs; it was a male."* Haast remarks of a j'oung individual observed by liim 

 near New Brighton, New Zealand, and not in a fresh condition: "The color of the 

 whole animal was of a deep, velvety black, with the exception of the lower portion 

 of the belly, which had a grayish color." " 



The color of the immature male of B. arnuxii captured in Wellington Harbor, 

 New Zealand, in 1877, and described by Hector, was as follows: "The colour was 

 black with a pm'ple hue, except a narrow band along the belly, which was grey. 

 The muzzle, fhppers, and tail lobes were intenselj^ black." <* 



It is not likely that there is any marked difference in the color of arnuxii and 

 bairdii, but the data aA'ailable are insufficient for the determination of the matter. 

 It will be observed, however, that Mr. Judge stated that the male hairdii foimd on 

 St. George Island was white below, while in all the accounts of arnuxii the color of 

 the under surface is given as blackish, with a restricted area of gray. 



Besides its apparently greater size, Berardius hairdii differs from B. arnuxii in 

 various cranial and other osteological characters, as well as in external proportions, 

 and is to be regarded as a distinct species. The external measurements of the 

 St. George Island specimens reduced to percentages of the total length and com- 

 pared with similar measurements of a specimen of B. arnuxii described by Hector, 

 are as follows: 



a Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 6, pp. 75-77, June 22, 1883. 



t> Duvernoy, Ann. Sci. Nat., ser. 3, Zool., vol. 15, 1851, p. 52, footnote. 



cAnn. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 4, vol. 6, October, 1870, p. 348. 



<i Trans. New Zealand Inst., vol. 10, 1878, p. 338. 



