THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. vill 
7. BALMNOPTERA DAVIDSONI Scammon. 1872. 
Original description : Proceedings, California Academy of Sciences, 4, No. 20, 
Jan., 1873, pp. 269-270. Printed in advance, Oct. 4, 1872. 
Type-locality : Admiralty Inlet, Washington, Oct.,1870. Female, 27 feet long, 
with feetus, 5 ft. long. 
Type-specimen: Skull No. 12177, U.S. National Museum. (See pl. 23, fig. 1; 
pl. 25, fig. 1; pl. 26, fig. 1.) 
The original description is as follows : 
“ Above, dull black; body, pectoral and caudal fins white below, with a white 
band across the upper surface of the pectorals near their bases. Gular folds, 
seventy in number; the interspaces having a pinkish cast, though the more prom- 
inent portions are of a milky white. Head pointed; dorsal fin small, falcate, placed 
two-thirds the length of the body from the end of the beak. Pectorals small, 
narrow, placed one-third of the animal’s length from the anterior extremity. Gen1- 
talia opening below and slightly behind the anterior edge of the dorsal fin. Baleen 
pure white; laminz on each side, two hundred and seventy in number; the longest 
not exceeding ten inches. ‘Total length of animal twenty-seven feet; pectorals four 
feet long, thirteen inches wide; spiracles three feet eight inches behind the end of 
the beak ; pectorals, ditto, eight feet six inches; anterior edge of dorsal, ditto, fifteen 
feet six inches; posterior edge, ditto, eighteen feet. Height of dorsal, ten inches ; 
breadth of flukes, from point to point, seven feet six inches; width of lobes of the 
same, twenty-five inches. From the fork of the caudal fin to the anus, eight feet 
four inches; ditto to opening of vagina, nine and a half feet. Anterior end of 
snout to corner of mouth, four feet eight inches. 
“ Distribution from Mexico to Bering Strait; on the west coast of America. 
“The specimen from which this description was taken was obtained in Ad- 
miralty Inlet, Washington Territory, October, 1870. It was a female, and con- 
tained a fcetus five feet long; thus correcting the error of the whalers, who com- 
monly regard this small species as the young of the ‘finback’ of the coast. The 
skull has been deposited in the National Museum at Washington.” (81, 269-270.) 
Genus MEGAPTERA. 
8. MrGaprEra ospHy1a Cope. 1865. 
“ Hunchbacked Whale of our [Atlantic] Coast.” 
Original description : Proceedings, Academy of Natural Sciences, Phila., 1865, 
p. 180. Offered for publication Sept. 19, 1865 ; published in 1865. 
Type-locality : Forty miles from Petit Manan lighthouse, Maine. 
Type-specimen : Skeleton from individual 50 ft. long, found dead at sea and 
towed to shore by Capt. Taylor. Skeleton mounted and preserved in museum at 
Niagara Falls, New York. 
This species was based on a skeleton of a Humpback found dead at sea,! 
40 miles from Petit Manan lighthouse, Maine, in July, 1844. It was mounted and 
‘A printed label now (1900) on the skeleton reads: “Captured by Capt. J. Bickford, of the 
ship Fulton.” 
