MAMMALS 



parts of our coasts. If there may be room for 

 doubt concerning the identification of many 

 of the specimens, there can be none with 

 reference to that captured at Burn ham on 

 February 12, 1901, as this was examined and 

 fully described by Mr. Walter Crouch (Essex 

 Nat. v. 124). 



2. Rudolphi's Rorqual. Balanopttra borealis, 



Lesson. 

 Bell Baltenoptera laticepi. 



This whale, said to be rare on the British 

 coasts, has been four times captured in Essex 

 water within the last few years. The first 

 record of this whale as an Essex species is by 

 Dr. J. E. Gray (Proc. Zoo/. Sac. 1864, p. 218), 

 who mentions one being found in Hope Reach, 

 in the Thames near Gravesend, in the year 

 1859. The second was stranded and killed 

 near Cricksea, in the river Crouch, on Novem- 

 ber 8, 1883. It was identified by Professor 

 Flower and described by him (Proc. Zool. Soc. 

 1883, p. 514). The third was found dead 

 at Tilbury, and was identified, drawn and 

 described by Mr. Walter Crouch (Essex Nat. 

 ii. 41). The fourth was captured in the 

 Medway, and having passed through the 

 Thames estuary must have been in Essex 

 waters. This also was identified and de- 

 scribed by Mr. Walter Crouch in the 

 Rochester Naturalist for 1888, where a figure 

 and measurements are given. 



3. Lesser Rorqual. Baltenoptera rostrata, 



Fabricius (Baltenoptera acuto-rostra, 



Lacep.). 



This is one of the best marked and most 

 easily distinguished species of the family, and 

 at the same time one of the most common on 

 our coasts. It has occurred in the Thames 

 several times. One is recorded and figured 

 (Zoologist, 1843, p. 33), and is now preserved 

 in the British Museum. Mr. E. A. Fitch 

 records (Zoologist, Nov. 15, 1900) the capture 

 of a small female in Mayland Creek. 



4. Sperm Whale. Physeter macrocephalus, 



Linn. 



This tropical whale has occasionally 

 wandered to the shores of our island. A 

 live one ran ashore in the Thames in 1788 

 (Bell's Brit. Quad. ed. 2, p. 417). Dale 

 (Hist, of Harwich, ed. 2, 1732, p. 413) 

 mentions one caught in the Thames. 



An original manuscript letter from Wal- 

 berswick, Suffolk, dated March 7, 1788, pre- 

 served in the British Museum copy of the 

 volume of the Philosophical Transactions for 

 1787, records the appearance of twelve 



sperm whales after a hard gale of northerly 

 winds in February, 1763. Two of these 

 were driven ashore dead on the coast of 

 Essex the writer does not say at what 

 point. He cut up however more than one 

 of the twelve, and gives the dimensions of 

 some of the animals. 



5. Bottle-Nose or Common Beaked Whale. 



Hyperoodon rostratus, Chemnitz. 

 A well-known and easily distinguished 

 species. There are several records of its cap- 

 ture on the Essex coasts. Hunter records 

 one captured in the Thames in 1783, above 

 London Bridge (Bell's Brit. Quad. ed. 2, 

 p. 423). Dale (Hiit. of Harwich, ed. 2, 

 p. 412) mentions one captured in the Black- 

 water, and in July, 1891, two males occurred 

 in the Thames (Essex Nat. v. 170). 



6. Grampus. Orca gladiator, Lacepcde. 

 Hunter records the capture of three speci- 

 mens in the Thames towards the end of the 

 eighteenth century (see Bell's Brit. Quad. 

 ed. 2, p. 446). There is in the British 

 Museum the skull of one taken on the 

 Essex coast (Zoologist, 1873, P- 34 2 9)> ant ^ 

 Dale (Hist, of Harwich, p. 412) mentions 

 another specimen. 



7. Risso's Grampus. Grampus griseus, Cuvier. 



One of this species was found stranded in 

 the Crouch about September 5, 1885, just 

 above the spot where Rudolphi's rorqual, 

 previously mentioned, was stranded. The 

 remains of the skull and lower jaw were 

 deposited in the British Museum, and Pro- 

 fessor Flower, after examining them, con- 

 firmed the identification (see Zoologist, 1888, 

 p. 260). 



8. Porpoise. Phoctena communis, Cuvier. 

 Very common on the coasts and often 



seen in the rivers. 



9. Bottle-Nosed Dolphin. Tursiops tursio, 



Fabricius. 



Bell Delphlnus tursio. 



Generally considered rare, but it is not so 

 on the Essex coasts, where it may often be 

 seen. There are records of many captures 

 (Zoologist, 1882, pp. 147-351). 



10. White-beaked Dolphin. Delphinus albi- 



rostris, J. E. Gray. 



On September n, 1889, a school of nine 

 specimens of this rare cetacean visited the 

 Colne ; five of them were captured (see 

 Zoologist, 1889, p. 382). 



259 



