BAI^ENID^. 



3. The last state, or the perfectly " adult," in which all the ver- 

 tebral epiphj'ses are anchylosed. Siich adult skeletons of Whales are 

 rarely seen, but those of Mi/jje radon and other Delphinidae are not 

 uncommon in collections. 



Family 1. BAL^NID^. 



Dorsal fin none. Belly smooth, without any longitudinal folds. 

 Baleen elongate, slender. Vertebrae of neck anchylosed. Pectoral fin 

 broad, truncated at the end ; fingers 5, short ; phalanges 3.4.4.4.1. 

 Tympanic bone rhombic. Rostrum narrow, linear, rounded ; the 

 maxilla narrow, linear, rounded. Lower jaw with only a rudi- 

 mentary coronoid. Sca])ula high, narrow, nearly as high as Avide, 

 with a distinct coraeoid process. The second cervical vertebra (or 

 axis) with a small, short, broad lateral process without any basal 

 perforation (except in Pahfocetus'?). The lateral processes of the 

 cervical vertebrte anchylosed ; the lower processes of the second and 

 third are Avell developed, the others are rudimentary and laminar. 

 The baleen or whalebone is narrow, elongate, very gradually taper- 

 ing, fi-inged on the inner edge with numerous fine, soft, flexible 

 fibres of a nearly uniform length, consisting internally of a thin 

 layer formed of several series of fibres, covered on each side by a 

 thick coat of enamel. 



Balfenidt'B, Grai/, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864. 



Balpena, Gray, Cat. Cctac. 9 ; Rajin. Anal. Nat. 61, 1815 ; Laciphle. 



Wallfische (Balteua), Schlegel, Ahluincll. 36. 



Leiobalfena, Esch. WalltJi. 7, 1849. 



Balsena, sp., Lin?i. ; Pliger, Prodr. 142, 1811, 



Baloeua, Lesson, N. Tab. Peg. Anim. 202. 



Balaena, § a, Fischer, Syn. Mamm. 521. 



" They live in the ocean, but come into the shallow and sheltered 

 bays to bring forth their young. 



" They roar hke an enraged bull. The females are generally the 

 largest." — BeaJe, 13, 14. 



" The bones of the cranium are greatly arched, so as to leave a 

 wide interval between the upper and lower jaw. The rostrum nar- 

 row and compressed at the base ; the orbital process of the frontal 

 very much prolonged and extremely narrow and roimded on its upper 

 surface." — Flower, Proc. Zool. >:ioc. 1864, 389. 



" The length, Like the breadth (of the baleen), is a mere consequence 

 of the extreme naiTowness of the palate in the Mystk-ete compared to 

 that in the Balcena^Physahisymaximus.'"' — Knox, Cat. Prep. lFA«/e,29. 



Through the kindness of Messrs. Smith and Siramonds, and Mr. 

 Smith of Messrs. W. WestaU & Co., Whale-fin Merchants, I have 

 been enabled to examine numerous specimens of the whalebone or 

 baleen received from diff'erent countries, and to compare their pecu- 

 liarities as exhibited during its preparation. 



The fins or whalebones of each series together are called a '' side 

 of bone " ; the largest are in the middle, wlience they gradually 



