OCEANIC MAMMALS 513 



Family B ALAENOPTERIDAE : Fin Whales 



COMMON FINBACK WHALE 

 BALAENOPTERA PHYSALUS (Linnaeus) 



Balaena physalus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 75, 1758 (European 



seas). 



SYNONYMS: See Allen, G. M., 1939, p. 265, for list. 

 FIGS.: True, 1904, pis. 1-6, 8-12 (photographs of exterior and skeleton); Mackintosh 



and Wheeler, 1929, pi. 25, fig. 2 (col.), pis. 32-34 (photographs). 



The finback whale is found the world over in all oceans and 

 with the blue whale forms the mainstay of the modern whaling 

 industry. Although it can hardly be said that it is in present 

 danger of extermination, nevertheless the enormous numbers 

 annually destroyed make it imperative that whaling be con- 

 ducted with proper regard for the reproduction and perpetu- 

 ation of the species. 



This is the second largest of living whales, attaining a length 

 of about 65 feet, or even up to 82 feet in the female. The long, 

 slender body is a dull brownish gray in life, except that in the 

 middle of the under side it is pure white. There is a large 

 falcate fin in the middle of the after part of the back. The 

 throat is thrown into a number of branching lengthwise folds, 

 of which there may be 70 to 80 between the pectoral limbs. 

 The whalebone plates are more or less variegated in stripes of 

 purplish or yellow, and the anterior third or so of those on the 

 right-hand side are all white, a remarkable case of asymmetry. 



The finback whale is found in all the seas but is most abun- 

 dant in those of the Temperate Zone, or in special regions where 

 its favorite food of small shrimps (Euphausia) and other 

 pelagic crustaceans and small fish is to be had in quantities. 

 It is somewhat social, often gathering in small schools or larger 

 associations where attracted by abundant food. 



In former times the finback was very rarely attacked by 

 whalemen, for occasional attempts usually resulted disastrously 

 because of the strength and swiftness of the animal. It was not 

 until the invention of the more deadly bomb lance by Svend 

 Foyn in 1865 that the attention of whalers was seriously turned 

 to the rorquals, while the growing scarcity of the more valuable 

 right and sperm whales proved an added stimulus. Soon the 

 bomb lance was improved, and in the latter decades of the 

 nineteenth century the Norwegians began using small staunch 



