

Provincia Musrum Reporr. M 9 

- quite plentiful. From this information it is reasonable to think that upon further research a 
_ hew subspecies may be recognized. Much more material, however, and in better condition is 
wanted and very desirable. Dr. Merriam states they have in the collection at Washington one 
similar specimen from Lake Bennet. 
From time to time numerous reports have reached this Department of chipmunks having 
been seen in various localities on Vancouver Island, but upon close investigation we have been 
: unable to substantiate any proof of their occurrence, and I very much doubt if chipmunks were 
ever native inhabitants of Vancouver Island, although some time about the year 1898 Mr. Albert 
__ H. Maynard, of Victoria, B.C., collected two chipmunks on the beach at Esquimalt. These skins, 
I understand from Mr. Maynard, were given to the late John Fannin, who was Director of tuis 
_ Museum at that time, but I cannot find any record of these skins in this Department; presumably 
_ they must have been sent to some authority for verification and not returned. Until such time 
_ as these skins can be located and their identity established, we cannot include them in the local 
fauna of Vancouver Island. It is possible that these two chipmunks which Mr. Maynard mentions 
. may have been two animals that had been in captivity and liberated. (IF. K.) 
. With further reference to the Notes on Mammals on page 10, Proy. Mus. Rep. 1920, “ Notes 
on the Occurrence of a Humpbacked Whale having Hind Legs,’ a description of this was 
published by Mr. Roy Chapman Andrews in the American Museum Novitates No. 9, and is 
herewith copied, giving further descriptions and conclusions in regard to this remarkable case 
) of external hind limbs in a humpbacked whale. 
) This is printed with the object that through our Annual Report it may become known to 
local residents who may be interested in this extraordinary find at Kyuquot Station. 
) It appears to have made quite a stir with a number of scientists, and the Director is in 
receipt of correspondence from Dr. Othenis Abel, Professor de Palaeontologie an der Wiener 
. Universitat, who has published several pamphlets on whales and who wishes further information, 
: if possible, concerning this remarkable find. 
A REMARKABLE CASE OF EXTERNAL HIND LIMBS IN A HUMPBACK WHALE. 
By Roy CHAPMAN ANDREWS. 
. 
} In July, 1919, a female humpback whale (Megaptera nodosa) with two remarkable protru- 
sions on the ventral side of the body, posteriorly, was captured by a shi» 2peratizg from the 
whaling-station at Kyuquot, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. 
One of the protrusions was cut off by the crew of the vessel, but the other was photographed 
in situ by the superintendent of the station. Mr. Sidney Ruck and Mr. Lawson, officials of the 
Consolidated Whaling Company, appreciated the importance of the discovery and presented the 
skeletal remains of the attachment to the Provincial Museum, Victoria, B.C. 
At my request, Mr. Francis Kermode, Director of the Provincial Museum, very courteously 
submitted the bones to me with permission to publish upon the result of my examination, 
Under date of March 4th, 1920, Mr. Ruck writes to Mr. Kermode as follows :— 
“T enclose herewith three photographs showing the unusual development of the pelvie 
rudiments in a whale eaptured at the Kyuquot Station last July, of which you have the boues. 
It is to be regretted that better pictures in evidence of this unprecedented development were 
not obtained. : 
“T have been connected with the whaling industry for twenty-two years and during my 
time have come in contact with prominent naturalists, such as Professor True, of the Smithsonian 
Institute; Professor Lucas, of the Natural History Museum, Brooklyn;* and Professor Andrews, 
of the Natural History Museum, New York, and neither in their experience or mine have the 
protrusion of the pelvic bones beyond the body ever been seen or heard of. 
“This particular whale was a female humpback of the average length, with elementary legs 
protruding from the body about 4 feet 2 inches, covered with blubber about 4% inch thick. 
“As shown in the best photograph, these legs protruded on either side of the genital opening; 
the left leg was cut off by the crew of the vessel and lost, and the point at which it was cut off 
is clearly shown iu the photograph. The end of the leg seen in the picture terminated in a kind 
of round knob like a man’s clenched fist. 
“The two bones of the leg which you have are connected by cartilage, which I was informed 
had shrunk about 10 inches, and possibly more by this time. At any rate, the total length of the 














* Then of the U.S. National Museum, now of the American Museum of Natural History. 
