THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTEIIN NORTH ATLANTIC. 



137 



It apjiears, therefoi-e, that in European specimens the number of ribs varies from 14 

 to 16 pairs, and in American specimens, 15 to 16 pairs. 



With the modifications indicated above, the vaiious European and American 

 formulae will stand as follows : 



BALMNOPTEEA PHYSALVS (L.). EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN. VERTEBRAL FORMULA, REVISED. 



Author or Museum. 



Flower 



Flower and Gray 



Van Beneden 



Lilljeborg 



Heddle 



Struthers 

 Delage 

 Fischer 



u 



Menge 



Locality. 



Vlieland Id. 

 Katwijk 

 Falmouth 

 Isle of Witiht 



Borselaer 



Coast of Norway 



Laman Id. 



Nairn 



Langrune 



St. Vigor 



St. Cyprien 



Danzig 



Date. 



C. 



Ca. 



Total 



Remarks. 



EUROPEAN. 



caudals added for the 

 ninnber concealed in 

 the flukes. 



" Absolutely correct ' 

 (Heddle). 



(+ 2 = 62) 



U. S. N. M. 1604s 



Albany Mus. 



Rochester 



Cambridge Mus. 



Boston Mus. 



Phila. Mus. 



U. S. Nat. Mus. 



Cape Cod, Mass. 



Provincetown, " 



Gloucester " 



Sinepuxent Bay, Md. 



Newfoundland 



(+ 3 = 61) 



Type of B. tectirostris. 

 Foetus. 



The most frequent formulae for the cervical, dorsal, and hmibar vertebrae of 

 European specimens shown by this revised table are: 7, 15, 14, and 7, 15, 15. A 

 comparison with American specimens can scarcely be made with advantage as 

 there are but six of these with complete foi'mul* as against eleven European speci- 

 mens. The formulae of two of the American specimens, however, agree with one of the 

 two most fiecpient European foimulaj above cited. In two other cases the Ameri- 

 can foi'mula is 7,16,14. This might be considered as of some importance were it 

 not that sixteen dorsals ai-e indicated in two European specimens, as already noted 

 on p. 136. A fifth American formula — 7, 15, 13 — is repeated in the Vlieland 

 Id. skeleton, according to the interpretation of Flower. 



On the wh(de, the facts regarding the vertebral formula do not appear to 

 point to specific distinctness between European and American specimens, but the 

 matter caimot be pronounced upon with entire satisfaction until more American 

 specimens have been examined. 



In Struthei's's Nairn (Scotland) specimen the 2d and 3d pairs of ribs had 

 capitular processe,s, or beaks; in Van Beneden's Borselaer specimen, the 1st and 

 2d pairs; in Heddle's Lanian Id. .specimen, the 2d, 3d, and 4th i)airs. Other Euro- 

 pean specimens present still different combinations. In the American specimen in 



