THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. 145 



The agreement of the various measui'ements is, on the whole, a close one, and 

 where discrepancies appear there is no evidence of a constant difference between 

 European and American specimens. Dwight's specimen from Gloucester, Mass., 

 according to his measurements, has a smaller scapula than any other specimen, 

 while the type of B. tectirosfris has a longer radius. The same diffei-ences do not 

 obtain in the other two American specimens. They may be individual or due to a 

 difference in the manner of taking the measurements. In the case of Dwight's 

 Gloucestei' (Mass.) specimen, the short radius indicated by the measurements is not 

 found in figure 12, plate 6, of his article. 



Much more significant than these differences is the agreement l^etwcen Dwight's 

 specimen and that from Nairn, Scotland, measured by Prof. Struthers {88, 830). 

 The proportions of the vertebrae are practically identical ; the difference in the size 

 of the scapula, as already stated, is not confirmed by the other American specimens. 



SUMMARY. 



The consideration of the various external and osteological characters of Ba- 

 lamoptera pliysalus and of American specimens I'esembling that species has now 

 been completed as far as cii'cumstances will permit. While numerous disci'ep- 

 ancies have been detected in individual cases, the evidence as a whole points 

 unmistakably, in my opinion, to the conclusion that the same species occurs on 

 both sides of the Atlantic, and I believe that with further investigation and fuller 

 data the discrepancies which have been pointed out will be found to rest on 

 individual or sex variation, or lack of ct^iformity in measurements. 



One point, however, appears to me to be worthy of special attention : The 

 maximum and average total length of both sexes is less for Newfoundland speci- 

 mens than foi' those taken at the Norwegian whaling stations in Finmark, or 

 captured or stranded on other pai'ts of the European coasts. 



It is somewhat difficult to determine the importance and real meaning of this 

 apparent difference in size. Thi'ee alternatives suggest themselves. It may be 

 (1) a real difference; or (2) it may be due to an exaggeration of the measure- 

 ments by the Norwegian whalers ; or (3) it may arise from the fact that the 

 Noi-wegian and Newfoundland whales belong to the same herds, and that the 

 largest individuals have been killed. As to the second alternative, it has to be 

 said that while the measurement may be exaggerated there is no evidence that 

 such is the case. The third point is of more impoi'tance. The Norwegian meas- 

 urements quoted from Cocks were for whales captured off Finmark between 

 1885 and 1886, a decade before the Newfoundland fishery began. There was 

 ample time for the largest individuals to be killed off. But it is necessary to 

 prove that the herds of the eastern and western Atlantic mingle together. The 

 present evidence of such a commingling cannot be considered conclusive. Hence, 

 the difference in size between the Norwegian and American individuals still has 

 validity. It cannot by itself, however, be considered as proof of specific distinctness, 

 as it is quite allowable to suppose that there may be separate herds belonging 



