WHALES AND THEIR CLASSIFICATION 31 



to the old Norwegians as " Skeljungr." It is of 

 wide distribution, being found in the southern and 

 northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Indian 

 and Pacific Oceans, in the latter as far north as 

 Behring Strait. Probably there is only one species 

 of Humpback, though at different times several 

 species have been described by cetologists. 



The Humpback is found in August and 

 September in high northerly latitudes. In 

 November it migrates to the south, and after the 

 winter is over, north again. In February it is 

 abundant off the Bermudas, leaving there in May 

 for Greenland, Baffin Bay, and the Finmark 

 coast (Norway). 



At the end of the summer, it leaves northern 

 waters again and seeks the African coast or the 

 West Indies. The Humpback crosses the Equator 

 off the Peruvian coast. According to Scammon, 

 individual Humpbacks are recognised by the 

 whalers ; off Greenland the same individuals are met 

 with from year to year, and they even have their 

 nicknames. 



Hjort has recently collected important informa- 

 tion on the migration of the Humpback, 1 which in 

 the North Atlantic feeds on either a small crustacean 

 or a small fish (Osmerus arcticus), preferring the 

 former. Hjort analysed the whalers' catches for 

 1896 and 1898, and found that the Humpback 

 approaches the Norwegian coast at two different 

 seasons of the year, firstly in February and March, 



1 Fiskeri og Hvalfangst i det Nordlige Norge t Berg-en, igo2. 



