﻿THE GENERA OF FOSSIL WHALEBONE WHALES 

 ALLIED TO BAUENOPTERA 



By FREDERICK W. TRUE 



In preparing to study and identify the remains of Tertiary whale- 

 bone whales contained in the collections of the United States National 

 Museum, I had occasion four years ago to examine the literature 

 relating to these forms, and also the type-specimens of North 

 American species, so far as they were available. The two principal 

 works relating to extinct finback whales are Van Beneden's " Descrip- 

 tion of Fossil Remains from the Vicinity of Antwerp " * and Brandt's 

 " Fossil and Subf ossil Cetacea of Europe." 2 



I studied Van Beneden's work attentively, and endeavored by 

 means of comparative tables, composed of data extracted from the 

 accounts of the various genera, to form diagnoses by which they 

 could be discriminated. This undertaking, though it involved much 

 labor, proved unremunerative, for the reason that the information 

 given by Van Beneden is inexact, conflicting, and insufficient. While 

 the text of this work is thus very unsatisfactory, the illustrations 

 which accompany it are of the highest excellence and importance. 



2 Van Beneden, P. J. — Description des Ossements Fossiles des Environs 

 d'Anvers. Brussels, 1877-1886. Folio. 



Pt. 1. Pinnipeds ou Amphitheriens. Ann. Mus. Roy. Hist. Nat. Belg., 



ser. Paleont, vol. 1, 1877. Pis. 1-18. 

 Pt. 2. Genres Balanula, Balana et Balccnotus. Op. cit., vol. 4, 1880. 



Pis. 1-39, 1878. 

 Pt. 3. Genres Megaptera, Balcenoptera, Burtinopsis, et Erpetocetus. 



Op. cit, vol. 7, 1882. Pis. 1-109, 

 Pt. 4. Genre Plesiocetus. Op. cit., vol. 9, 1885. Pis. 1-30. 

 Pt. 5. Genres Amphicetus, Heterocetus, Mesocetus, Idiocetus et 



Isocetus. Op. cit., vol. 13, 1886. Pis. 1-75. 



2 Brandt, J. F. — Untersuchungen iiber die fossilen und subfossilen Cetaceen 

 Europa's. Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersburg, ser. 7, vol. 20, no. 1, 

 &73, PP. i-viii, 1-372, pis. 1-34- 

 Erganzungen zu den fossilen Cetaceen Europa's. Op. cit., vol. 21, no. 6, 

 1874, pp. i-iv, 1-54, pis. 1-5. 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 59, No. 6 



