68 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITISH SEAS. 



1877, a Whale was captured in the Gulf of Taranto, which has been referred 

 to this species, and these, I believe, are the only specimens which have been 

 taken in European waters of late years ; it seems very probable, however, that 

 the "Black-Whale" of the temperate shores of N. America (the B. cisarctica 

 of Cope) is identical with B. biscayensis, and that, although extinct on the 

 eastern side of the Atlantic, individuals from the American waters occasionally 

 find their way into the European seas, where the race formerly existed as a 

 native. The skeleton of the Taranto specimen is now in the Museum of 

 Comparative Anatomy of the University of Naples, and M. F. Gasco states 

 positively that "both the Taranto Whale and that of Philadelphia {B. 

 cisarctica, Cope) belong to the species B. biscayensis, of Eschricht, which, for 

 several centuries was pursued with avidity — I was going to say exterminated — 

 throughout the temperate regions of the North Atlantic, first by the Basques, 

 and then successively by the Saintongeois, the Normans, the Dutch (who 

 called it Nordkaper), the Danes, Norwegians, English, and Americans."* 

 The cervical vertebrae in the British Museum, which form the type of Gray's 

 Halibalcena britannica are also believed to belong to this species. 



Dr. Gray did not recognize Balczna biscayensis as a good species, and 

 accounted for the absence of the Right-Whales, formerly found in British 

 waters, from the disturbed state of the seas, owing to the great increase in 

 traffic of ships, and especially steam-vessels, which, he said, "appears to 

 restrict their visits, and especially their breeding, more to the Arctic portion ; 

 thus some Whales, which were formerly said to be common on the coast of 

 Britain, as the Right-Whales, no longer visit this country." Eschricht, 

 however, as before stated, has clearly shown that the habits of the northern 

 Right- Whale and localities frequented by them have remained unchanged 

 for many years, as proved by the record kept at the whaling-stations estab- 

 lished by the Danish government on the west coast of Greenland. 



* 'Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist.,' 1878 (11), p. 495. 



