RORQUALS, OR FINNERS. 269 



bones of which are perserved in the Zoological Museum at 

 Cambridge, is likewise mentioned by Bell under the head of 

 the present species ; but, as noticed by Sir W. Turner on the 

 page cited, this specimen really belongs to the Lesser Rorqual. 

 The first authenticated British example of this Rorqual is, 

 therefore, one described by Sir W. Turner, which was stranded 

 in the autumn of 1872, near Bo'ness, on the Firth of Forth. 

 This specimen measured about 38 ft. in length, and its skeleton 

 is preserved in the museum of the University of Edinburgh. 

 Another example was found by some fishermen struggling in 

 shallow water near the mouth of the River Crouch, in Essex, on 

 the morning of Nov. i, 1883. This specimen, which was a 

 male, was about 29 ft. in length, and is described by Sir Wm. 

 Flower in the "Proceedings" of the Zoological Society for 

 1883, p. 513. When caught, the colour of the back was a rich 

 glossy black, shading to a brilliant white below, the flippers 

 being entirely black. In September of the following year 

 (1884) a female specimen of this species was stranded in the 

 Humber, the skeleton of which is now preserved in the 

 British Museum. The entire length of this specimen was 

 about 34 ft., and a brief reference to it will be found in the 

 under-mentioned paper by Mr. Crouch. The fourth example 

 was a male, captured in the Thames at Tilbury on Oct. 19, 

 1887. A brief notice of this Whale was given by Sir Wm. 

 Flower in the " Proceedings " of the Zoological Society for 

 1887, p. 567, and a fuller account by Mr. W. Crouch in the 

 "Essex NaturaUst," for 1887, p. 41. The length of this specimen 

 was 35 ft. 4 in. It was described by a correspondent in a local 

 paper as "measuring 35 ft. 4 in. in length, its mouth 6 ft. wide, 

 and 18 ft. 6 in. round the shoulders; while its tail (flukes) is 8 ft. 

 across, and its weight 6 tons 5 cwt. This surprising visitor 

 was found soon after daylight, lying with its snout nearly level 

 with the top of the river wall, so that it must have come up the 



