THE WHALKHONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. 251 



It will be obsei-ved from these tables that the mimbei- of dorsals in both Eu- 

 ropean and American specimens is nniformly 14, the only exception being in the 

 San Sebastian (Spain) skeleton. In this case, however, Gasco thinks there may 

 have been 14 paiis of ribs. 



The number of lunibars is fixed by the position of the first chevron. As the 

 series of chevrons is commoidy incomplete in museum specimens, and, furthei'more, 

 as the transition from the quite sharp infei'ior carina of the lumbar vertebne to the 

 paired inferior lidges of the caudals is not always abrupt, it is extremely difficult in 

 many cases to determine correctly the number of lumbars. The widening of the 

 [)Osterior end of the inferior carina may be more or less distinctly marked on the 

 32d vertel)i'a, in which case there might be considered to be 10 lumbars. On 

 the other hand, this thickening of the carina may not be pronounced until the 34th 

 vertel)ra is reached, in which case, 12 lumbars might be counted. 



My own observations on Ameiican specimens lead me to believe that 11 lum- 

 bars may be regarded as the normal number, varying from 10 to 12. Guldberg and 

 Gasco, however, regard 12 lumbars as the normal numbei- for Euro[)ean specimens. 



The Guetai'ia (Spain) skeleton of 1878 appears from Graells's figure {52, pi. 3) 

 to have but 8 lumbar vertebrae and about 26 caudals. I am unable to account for 

 this discrepancy and Prof. Rios y Rial's description {52, 65-67) is unintelligible to 

 me on account of the manner in which he divides the vertebral column. 



It would be possible to reduce the number of lumbar vertebriB to 8 in the 

 Long Island (N. Y.) skeleton in the National Museum, No. 23077, if the first caudal 

 were regarded as that in which a thickening of the posterior end of the inferior 

 median carina first occui-s. It is obvious that the question of the real number of 

 lumbars in the species cannot be authoritatively settled until the chevron bones 

 are examined in dhi in a number of adult and foetal specimens. Gervais's views 

 reffardins the number of lumbars in the Sultihurbottom whale are of interest in 

 this connection. (See p. 182.) 



SKCLL. 



The best figures of the skull of the European Nordcaper ai'e those of Gasco 

 {47, pis. 2-4) and Graells {52, pis. 3-4). While these agree in most particulars, 

 they show a considerable divergence at certain points. The most striking differ- 

 ence is in the direction of the orbital processes of the frontal. In Gasco's figure 

 these processes lie entirely behind the line of the antero-superior end of the occip- 

 ital, and are directed backward, while in Graells's figure the greater part of the 

 frontal processes lies in front of the line of the occipital, and the processes are 

 directed forward. This relation of the bones is shown especially in 52, pi. 4, fig. 2, 

 but also in pi. 4, fig. 1, and in pi. 3, fig. 2. In the latter, which is a figure of the 

 entire skeleton, the skull appears to be a reduced copy of pi. 4, fig. 2. In pi. 3, 

 fig. 1, which is a view of the entire skeleton from the side, the orbital process of 

 the frontal is represented more as if directed backward rather than forward, thus 



