THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. 



245 



praised, and often copied, hut it hardly seems possible that the remarkably short 

 head can be correct. The skeleton was very fully described by Gasco in 1879 (48). 



Fischer, in 1881, reprinted the description and measurements (44, 10) pub- 

 lished in 1682 by Segnette of a specimen stranded on Re Id., France, in 1680. 



In 1877, a specimen was stranded at Taranto, Italy, of which descriptions and 

 figures were published by Capellini in 1877 (IS) and by Gasco in 1878 (47). It 

 is an unfortunate circumstance that Gasco's measurements do not agree with Capel- 

 lini's; nor do they agree with the figures in the plates accompanying his memoir, 

 nor do the figures agree with each other. 



In 1889 Graells (52) published measurements and figures of a specimen cap- 

 tured at Guetaria, Spain, in 1878, and preserved in the museum of the Institute of 

 Secondary Instruction at San Sebastian. In the same memoir are included addi- 

 tional facts regarding this specimen by Prof. Candido RiosyRial (52, 63-67, Sep.). 



In 1893, Prof. Guldberg published a very valuable article entitled Zur Kennt- 

 niss des Nordkapers (59), containing measurements of specimens taken at Iceland, 

 together with three photographic figures of the exterior, and figures of the pelvic 

 bones and sternum. 1 



The foregoing memoirs contain practically all the data on the Nordcaper avail- 

 able for use in comparing European with American specimens. 



SIZE. 



The total length of the various recorded specimens of the European Nordcaper 

 is as follows : 



BALMNA OLACIALIS BONNATEREE. EUROPEAN. TOTAL LENGTH. 



1 These figures on a larger scale were also published by Buchet in 1895 ' ln Mem. Soc. Zool., 

 France, 8, 1895, 229-231, pis. 6-8. They bear here the legend " Phot, de M. Berg " In Guldberg's 

 paper the legend is " Guldberg phot." 



2 Skeleton. Van Beneden cites this as 48 ft. long, which must be an error. 



3 F.= French measure; R.= Rheinland; S.= Spanish. I am not positive as to the Rheinland. 

 ' In a straight line. 



s Fischer states that this specimen was young, but there is no evidence that such was the case. 



