270 THE WHALEBONE WHALES OF THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. 



It is certain, as pointed out by Van Beneden (8, 234) and others, that the 

 whales of the North Pacific bear a strong resemblance to those of the North 

 Atlantic, so much so that the question of their identity with them may properly 

 be raised. To this statement a notable exception must be made in the case of 

 the Gray whale, Rhachianectes, which has no counterpart in the North Atlantic, 

 since it is now certain that the genus Agaphelm of Cope, supposed to be based 

 on an allied Atlantic species, is fictitious. There is no reasonable doubt that the 

 following Atlantic and Pacific species are closely allied in the manner indicated : 



PACIFIC SPECIES. ATLANTIC SPECIES. 



"Cnllamach" whale allied to Balcena glacialis Bonnat. 



Megaptera versabilis " " Megaptera nodosa " 



Halcenoptera velifera " " Balcenoptera physalus (L.) 



Sibbaldius sulfureus " " Balcenoptera muscvlus (L.) 



Balcenoptera davidsoni " " Balcenoptera acuto-rostrata (Lac.) 



Balcenoptera borealis of the eastern North Atlantic has no representative, so 

 far as known at present, in the North Pacific, an interesting circumstance. 



Balwna sieboldii Gray (?). 



The whale mentioned by Scammon under the name of the "Right whale of the 

 Northwestern Coast," must be dismissed with a few words, as no new material is at 

 command by means of which to determine its identity. Scammon (82, 66) 

 states that " the color of the Right whale is generally black, yet there are many 

 individuals with more or less white about the throat and pectorals, and sometimes 

 they are pied all over. Its average adult length may be calculated at 60 feet it 

 rarely attains to 70 feet, and the two sexes vary but little in size. Its head is 

 very nearly one third the length of the whole animal, and the upper intermediate 

 portion, or the part between the spiracles and ' bonnet,' has not that even spherical 

 form, or the smooth and glossy surface present with the Bowhead, but is more or 

 less ridgy crosswise. Both lips and head have wart-like bunches moderately 

 developed, and in some cases the upper surface of the head and fins is infested 

 with parasitical crustaceans." 



Pechuel in 1871 (73, 1184) published a figure of a Right whale killed near the 

 Aleutian Ids. during his expedition. It resembles Scammou's figure in a general 

 way, but is entirely black. No measurements could be taken on account of stormy 

 weather. 



The whalebone, as far as may be judged from pieces in the National Museum, 

 is entirely black, occasionally with a bluish or greenish tinge, but without the dis- 

 tinct whitish stripes which occur in many specimens of the whalebone of B. mysti- 

 cetus. The bristles are coarser than in the latter species. The following are the 

 lengths of the pieces in the National Museum which may be assigned to this 

 species : 



