WHALEBONE WHALES—MACKINTOSH 239 
counterparts in the south. The black right whales of the north and 
south are generally referred to as distinct species, but it is doubtful 
whether there is good reason for this except insofar as their habitats 
are separated by a wider equatorial belt than that separating the other 
species. The Greenland right and gray whales are confined to the 
Northern Hemisphere, and the pigmy right is known only in the 
Southern Hemisphere. Bryde’s whale is said to inhabit both hemi- 
spheres. 
Modern whaling takes place mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, 
and for this reason more is known of the southern than of the northern 
whales. This applies particularly to their distribution. They are 
principally inhabitants of the open ocean, and hence the catches of 
pelagic factories are much more representative of the main stocks 
of whales than those of shore-based stations. In the north we have 
little to go on except the data from shore stations, though Townsend 
(1935) gives some information on the pelagic catches of old whaling 
ships, mainly in the North Pacific and Southern Oceans. The modern 
whaling fleet, on the other hand, ranges over most of the Southern 
Ocean, and here also the marking of whales undertaken by the Dis- 
covery Committee has provided direct evidence on distribution and 
migrations. In winter, however, there is little to rely on but the 
catches of temperate and tropical shore stations. 
(1) Balaena mysticetus 
The Greenland right whale, which grows to a length of about 60 
feet, is most readily distinguished by the huge head, which is about a 
third of the total length. In the great enlargement of the mouth, the 
elongation of the whalebone plates and modifications of the skull, 
this species shows a higher degree of specialization than any other 
whalebone whale. It is also peculiar in having a very restricted range 
of distribution. No direct investigations on this species have been 
made in recent years, for although it was formerly abundant in the 
Arctic it had been hunted almost to extinction by the end of the 
nineteenth century. The principal authorities are Scoresby (1820) 
and Esricht and Reinhardt (1861), but earlier work has been sum- 
marized in more recent publications. Southwell (1898) gives useful 
information on its distribution and movements in the North Atlantic, 
and Townsend (1935) throws new light on its distribution in the 
North Pacific. Harmer (1928) describes the Greenland right whale 
as “more polar in its occurence than any other of the great whales.” 
It was found in large numbers around the coasts and bays of Spitz- 
bergen and Jan Mayen, in the Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, and (prob- 
ably to a less extent) in Hudson Bay. Townsend’s chart shows that 
it was hunted in the North Pacific in summer mainly in the Sea of 
