506 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



As with other large whales there is normally but a single 

 young one at a birth. According to Millais, the northern right 

 whale bears a young one every two years, and suckles it for 12 

 months, but precise information on these matters is still a 

 desideratum. The adult whales feed chiefly on "krill," or 

 small pelagic crustaceans particularly of the genus Euphausia, 

 like other whalebone whales. 



GREENLAND WHALE; BOWHEAD 

 BALAENA MYSTICETUS Linnaeus 



Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 75, 1758 (Greenland 

 seas). 



SYNONYMS: Balaena mysticetus var. roysii Dall, in Scammon, Marine Mamm. North- 

 western Coast, p. 304, 1874 (Okhotsk Sea) ; Balaena mysticetus forma jnlkkajensis 

 Malm, Bihang til Kongl. Svensk. Vet.-Akad. Handl., Stockholm, vol. 8, no. 4, p. 

 37, figs., 1883. 



FIGS.: Scoresby, 1820, vol. 2, pis. 12, 12 (bis); Roy. Nat. Hist., vol. 3, p. 7, fig.; col. pi. 

 opposite p. 8, 1894-95. 



The bowhead, or Greenland whale, attains a length of up to 

 about 60 feet, but Captain Scoresby in his account of the 

 species gave credence to a report of up to 67 feet. The enor- 

 mous head forms about a third of the length, and thus is larger 

 in proportion than in the right whales. The skull differs from 

 that of the latter in having its narrow rostrum much more 

 arched, to accommodate the longer whalebone plates, of which 

 the longest usually measured about 12 feet or slightly less, and 

 were from 10 to 12 inches wide at the base. The inner edge 

 frays out into fine brownish fibers. As in the right whales, 

 there is no dorsal fin, and the throat is without folds. The 

 large pectoral limbs are short and squarish and have five 

 fingers in the skeleton. The general coloration is velvety black 

 on the back, most of the upper jaw, and part of the lower jaw, 

 as well as on the fore limbs and tail. The fore part of the under 

 jaw and lips, sometimes the tip of the upper jaw, and a varying 

 portion of the belly are white. The details of the pale areas 

 vary individually, and Scoresby mentions having seen whales 

 that "were all over piebald." The same author, whose personal 

 experience was wide, states that the yield of a large whale 

 would be upwards of 21 tons of oil or approximately 5,300 

 gallons; yet this might vary a great deal according to the con- 

 dition of the animal. The weight of a 60-foot whale is said by 

 Scoresby to be 70 tons. 



