BALJiNID.E. 75 



3. The last state, or the perfectly " adult,'" in which all the ver- 

 tebral epiphyses are aiichylosed. Such adult skeletons of Whales are 

 rarely seen, but those of Hyperodon and other Delphinidae are not 

 uncommon in collections. 



Family 1. BAL^NID^. 



Dorsal fin none. Belly smooth, ^vithout any longitudinal folds. 

 Baleen elongate, slender. Vertebraj of neck anchjlosed. Pectoral fin 

 broad, truncated at the end ; fingers 5, short ; phalanges 3.4.4.4.1. 

 Tympanic bone rhombic. Bostrum narrow, Hnear, rounded ; the 

 maxilla narrow, linear, rounded. Lower jaw with only a rudi- 

 mentary coronoid. Sca])ula high, narrow, nearly as high as wide, 

 "ttdth a distinct coracoid process. The second cervical vertebra (or 

 axis) with a small, short, broad lateral process without any basal 

 perforation (except in Palaocetus'l). The lateral processes of the 

 cervical vertebne anchylosed ; the lower processes of the second and 

 third are well developed, the others are rudimentary and laminar. 

 The baleen or whalebone is narrow, elongate, very gradually taper- 

 ing, fringed on the inner edge with numerous fine, soft, flexible 

 fibres of a nearly uniform length, consisting internally of a thin 

 layer formed of several series of fibres, covered on each side by a 

 thick coat of enamel. 



Balsenidse, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864. 



Balsena, Gray, Cat. Cetac. 9 ; Rajin. Anal. Nat. 61, 1815 ; Lacipcde. 



Wallflsche (Balseua), Schleycl, Ahhandl. 36. 



Leiobalseua, Esch. Wallth. 7, 1849. 



Balsena, sp., Linn. ; PUyer, Prodr. 142, 1811. 



Baloena, Lesson, N. Tab. Rey. Anim. 202. 



Balaena, § a, Fischer, Syn. Mamm. 521. 



" They live in the ocean, but come into the shallow and sheltered 

 bays to bring forth their young. 



** They roar like an enraged bull. The females are generally the 

 largest." — Beale, 13, 14. 



" The bones of the cranium are greatly arched, so as to leave a 

 wide interval between the ujiper and lower jaw. The rostrum nar- 

 row and compressed at the base ; the orbital process of the frontal 

 very much prolonged and extremely narrow and rounded on its upper 

 surface." — Flotrer, Proc. Zool. tSoc. 1804, 389. 



" The length, like the breadth (of the baleen), is a mere consecjuence 

 of the extreme narrowness of the palate in the Mystivete compared to 

 that in the B<d(i'na{PJnjsaJus)maximus." — Knox, Cat . Prep. While, 2^). 



Through the kindness of Messrs. Smith and Simmonds, and Mr. 

 Smith of Messrs. W. Westall & Co., ^\^lale-fin Merchants, I have 

 been enabled to examine numerous specimens of the Mluilebone or 

 baleen received from different countries, and to compare their pecu- 

 liarities as exhibited during its pi-eparation. 



The fins or whalebones of each series together are called a " side 

 of bone " ; the largest arc in the middle, Avhencc they gradually 



