174 THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. 
the irregularity of the end of the pectorals which occurs in many individuals, ap- 
pears to me to be due in most cases to external injury. The normal, complete 
termination is shown in pl. 21, fig. 3. When the pectorals are blunt, the softer 
parts are affected while the bones remain normal. ‘This appears to indicate that 
the injuries are caused by contact with bodies harder than the skin and ligaments, 
but that the force of impact is not sufficient to fracture the bones of the digits. 
Such injuries might perhaps be caused by rubbing against rocks at the bottom 
of the bays which these animals frequent, but I suspect that they are sometimes 
caused by the bites of sharks and porpoises. The malformation of the pectorals is 
often accompanied by abnormalities elsewhere on the body. 
Of the Newfoundland Sulphurbottoms, No. 8, ?, had the tip of the pectorals 
blunted. In No. 4, 2, the tip of the right pectoral was injured and apparently 
diseased, while the left was normal. In this individual, the inferior surface of the 
posterior end of the caudal peduncle also showed indications of injuries. In No. 
5, 6, the right pectoral had much of the posterior margin torn and irregular, and 
the tip distorted, as if broken. In this individual the dorsal was also injured and 
had a semicircular piece lacking from the posterior margin, as if pierced by a bullet. 
In No. 7, 4, the tip of both pectorals was blunted and irregular. The whalebone 
was defective in this individual. In No. 8, 2, both pectorals were blunted and ir- 
regular, as in the preceding specimen. The tip of the left pectoral in No. 14, ¢, 
was blunt. In No. 17, ¢, the tip of the left pectoral was remarkably blunted and 
serrated, with a prominent finger-like projection on the radial side. The right 
pectoral had a small hole in the posterior margin at a point distant from the 
axilla equal to one third the total length. No. 20, ?, had the tip of the right pec- 
toral irregular. 
SHAPE OF THE HEAD. 
The form of the head on the Newfoundland Sulphurbottoms is peculiar and 
characteristic. The blowholes are situated in a depression slightly below the gen- 
eral level of the top of the back. In front of them rises abruptly a strong median 
ridge, the top of which is somewhat above the level of the back. This ridge slopes 
down rapidly in front, but continues to the apex of the jaw. On each side of the 
blowholes is a thick rounded eminence, the top of which is about on a level with 
the top of the median ridge. This eminence is prolonged anteriorly as a sloping, 
attenuated, and rounded ridge which lies close to the median ridge, and dies away 
without reaching the tip of the jaw. External to this are the elevated, thick 
margins of the jaw, which are especially heavy near the apex of the jaw. Viewed 
from the side, the snout, or rostrum, presents a series of ridges and depressions, 
and from in front a most striking rotundity, on account of its great breadth and 
thick integuments. These features are shown in pl. 15 and pl. 18, figs..3 and 4. 
In No. 2, ¢, 71 feet in length, the distance from eye to eye, across the region 
of the blowholes, was 10 ft. 2 in.; across the rostrum half-way between the apex 
and the blowholes, 5 ft. 5 in. In No. 9, 2, length 72 feet, the distance across the 
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