120 



r,ULLETIN 36, UNITP:D STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



\ proportious of this specimen and the type of 1*. Uneata, tbc lueasiire- 

 meuts iu both cases beiuir from the casts: 



Measurements. 



Total length 



Extremity of snout to eye 



Extremity of ■snout to blowhole 



Extremity of snout to corner of mouth 



Extremity of snout to anterior base of pectoral 

 Extremity of snout to anterior base of dorsal- . 



Vertical height of dorsal 



Length of pectoral 



Greatest width of pectoral 



Width between points of flukes 



1333'J. 



Adult $. 



Cape May, 



N. J. 



12481. 



?• 

 New York 



JIarbor. 

 (Type of P. 



lineaia.) 



Tnclti' 



C8. 



ri. .5 



7.0 



4. 7.0 



13.0 



21). 



4.0 



7.0 



3.5 



12.5 



rlics. 

 70 

 7.0 

 7.0 

 4. 75 

 14.5 

 30.0 

 3.75 

 7. '25 



15. 5 



Considering the variation in proportions occurring in this gcnns, I 

 think it will be admitted that the proportions in these two individiiiil.s 

 are remarkablj' similar, and that No. 13339 mnst be identified ;is J'. 

 lineata,if such a species exists. But the skeleton of this iiidivii.uwl 

 (osteological No. IGGIO) is at command and it exhibits no characters by 

 whicli it may be distinguished from askeleton of P. communis from En: o- 

 pean waters. It is therefore strongly probable that the missing skelelcn 

 of the type of P. Uncata was likewise identical with that of P. eommn)iis. 



The measurements of P. vomerina given by Scammon are taken In mi 

 two individuals, one 4 feet 8 inches long, the other but 4 feet.* in a 

 skeleton from California, which is 4 feet long, the sutnre between the 

 atlas and axis is plainly visible, the epiphyses of the centra are free, 

 and the elements of the occipital are distinct. It is proper, therefore, 

 to hold that Scammon's specimens were both young, and to compare 

 them only with young specimens from the Atlantic. When we come 

 to examine Scammon's measurements, however, we iind tae differencts 

 in the proportious of the two individnals so great that we can not hojx'. 

 for any satisfaction in comparing them with* Atlantic specimens. It 

 is true that Scammon's two specimens belonged to opposite sexes, bnt 

 the differences are too great to be ascribed to difference of sex. For 

 example, iu the female, which was 48 inches long, the width of the 

 ])ectoral fins was as great, the height of the dorsal greater, and iKs 

 length along the back as great as iu the- male, which was 5G inclies 

 long. In the small female, also, the distance from the extremity of the 

 snout to the eye was as great as, and to the blowhole greater than, in the 

 larger male. In comparing these specimens with others from the At- 

 lantic, therefore, we shall be at a loss to determine whether the differ- 

 ences observable are to be regarded as indicating specific distinctness 

 or as being due to individual variation. As the Atlantic Phocffinas 



* Mariue Maminalia, p. 96. 



