CHAPTER III. 



A REVIEW OF COPE'S AND SCAMMON'S SPECIES. 



In the histoiy of American cetology two names will always stand out witL 

 special prominence, — those of Professor E. D. Cope and Captain C. M. Scammon. 

 Cope's observations on existing Balamidce cover a period extending from 1865 to 

 1891. During this time he descril)ed as new four species and one genus from the 

 east coast of the United States, one species from the West Indies, and four species 

 and one genus from the west coast of North America. In the present chapter I 

 propose to give a list of tliese various species, to indicate the nature and condition of 

 the material on which the}^ are based, and to state the present whereabouts of the 

 types. The original descriptions and measurements will be given in some cases and 

 in others a summary of differentia] characters. The west coast species will be 

 given further consideration in a separate chapter. 



Scammon described but a single species, Balcanoptera davidsoni, although, as 

 already seen, he furnished the information and material on which Cope's various 

 west coast species were based. 



Cope in his first essays gave scientific names to such stranded specimens of 

 Atlantic whales as accidentally came under his observation. His intention was not 

 to found species additional to those of which specimens ai'e commonly captured or cast 

 up on our shoi'es, but to give these a place in zoological nomenclature. Thus he speaks 

 of his Bahena cimrctica as " the Black whale of the whalers of our coast," etc. That 

 these sevei'al species received new names was because he thought they wei'e distin- 

 guishable from the species fiequentiug the coasts of Euro2:)e,and not because they were 

 rare Amei'icau forms unknown to whalers and others whose business was with the sea. 

 The same is largely true of tlie Pacific species. Cope's Megaptera versabilis was 

 "The North Pacific hump-back." His Bahpnoptera velifera was "The Finner 

 Whale of the Oregon coasts," his Sibbaldius sidfureus was "The Siilphui'-Bottom 

 of the North-West Coast." On account of this circumstance I have not thought it 

 necessary to present extended arguments to prove that the types of Cope's species 

 were the same specifically as s^iecimens from our coast which have accumulated since 

 the former were desci'ibed, except in cases in which, from an examination of the 

 types, I have found that the species were not properly characterized at the start. 

 In the subsequent chapters the types will be examined along with other specimens. 

 It is obvious that if they do present special charactei's, these will make themselves 

 noticeable. 



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