298 Bulletin American Museum, of Natural History. [Vol. XXIV, 



cites examples of this differentiation in other Cetaceans, two of which he 

 illustrates in his accompanying plates. 1 He expresses himself as in perfect 

 accord with Gray when he says that much more material is necessary before 

 we can pronounce definitely upon the geographic distribution of these animals; 

 but that he does not agree with him in considering the species mentioned 

 by him as well established. In view of the great variation due to sex and 

 age, and often to asymmetry, he well says: "On comprendra done pourquoi 

 diverses baleines qui figurent dans des catalogues n'ont pas ete indiquees 

 dans notre notice." 



Contributions and opinion* of Paul Fischer, 1871-1881. In 1871, 1872, 

 and 1881, Prof. Paul Fischer made contributions to the history of the Baleine 

 des Basques. He stated in the first of these papers 2 that he was convinced 

 that the Basque Whale is distinct not only from the Right Whales of the 

 southern hemisphere, but also from Balcena cisarctica. The second 3 

 contains interesting information relative to the history of the Basque Whale- 

 fishery, and a chronological list of the 'Baleines f ranches' stranded or 

 captured on the coasts of France and the Gulf of Gascony. He refers to Dr. 

 Monedero's drawing of the San Sebastian example as "extre"ment precieux 

 parce qu'il constitue la seule representation authentique de la Baleine des 

 Basques," and gives a description of its external characters and a table of 

 measurements a new and important contribution to the history of the 

 species with also a detailed account of its capture, from the ' Gazette de 

 Biarritz' of August and September, 1859. He then discusses the question 

 "Existe-t-il plusieurs Baleines f ranches dans 1'ocean Atlantique septentri- 

 onal?" In his 'Resume' he says: "Les Baleines f ranches des regions 

 temperees du Nord Atlantique ont re9U plusieurs noms, suivant les locality's 

 ou on les a pechees ou recueillies: 



"1 Balcena Biscayensis, dans le golfe de Gascogne; 

 2 Nordkaper, en Norwege et Island; 



1 In this connection attention may be called to a paper published three years later by Wil- 

 liam Turner, entitled 'On the so-called Two-headed Ribs in Whales and in Man ' (Journ. Anat. 

 and Phys., V, May, 1871, pp. 348-361, figs. 1-3), in which he says: "This anatomical peculiarity 

 has been regarded by some systematic zoologists, more especially by Dr. J. E. Gray of the British 

 Museum, as a character of so much importance that it has been made a basis for classification. 

 Dr. Gray has separated those skeletons 9f the whalebone whales in which this condition of the 

 first rib has been seen from the species with which they might in other respects have been asso- 

 ciated, and erected them, not merely into distinct species, but even into new genera" (1. c., p. 348). 

 In illustration of this he cites Gray's genera Sibbaldus and Hunterus. After reviewing the " facts 

 and opinions which have been collected and advanced by previous writers," and adding " some 

 new facts and observations " of his own, he presented a series of propositions which he considered 

 as firmly established, in part as follows: " 1st. In the cetacea cervical ribs are not unfrequently 

 developed in connection with the 7th vertebra. 2nd. The cervical ribs may remain free, or 



may become permanently blended with the 1st thoracic rib 4th. The. bifurcated form 



of the rib is due, not to the subdivision of a single bone into two parts, but to the fusion of two 

 bones into one mass, the vertebral extremity of which continues to exhibit its fundamental 

 duplex character" (1. c., p. 354). 



2 Sur la baleine des Basques (Balcena Biscayensis}. Compt. rend. Acad. Sci. Paris, LXXII, 

 1871, pp. 298-300. 



3 Documents pour servir a 1'histoire de la baleine des Basques (Balcena Biscayensis}. Ann. 

 des Sci. nat., 5 e sen, XV, 1872, art. No. 3, pp. 1-20. 



