1873.] DR. J. E. GRAY ON NEW-ZEALAND WHALES. 131 



united by the crests — the arch of the fourth and fifth on one side, 

 and fifth and sixth on the other, being more united together above 

 than the rest. 



The total length of the vertebrae of the New-Zealand specimen 

 placed close together is 3 1 feet 6 inches ; the length of the head 8 feet 

 6 inches, but over the curve of the nose 10 feet; the length of the 

 lower jaw 7 feet 8 inches, of the first rib 3 feet 6 inches, and of the 

 middle rib 7 feet 4 inches, as measured by Mr. E. Gerrard, Jun., who 

 observes that " the last small bone of the tail is wanting. There 

 are eight chevron bones present; but I should think there ought to be 

 one or two more small ones. One malar bone and the epiphyses of 

 three vertebrae are wanting. I also think a few of the finger-joints 

 are wanting ; but it is difficult to be sure, as some of them are loose 

 and others covered with skin;" but we will determine this point 

 when they are cleaned. 



The nasal bone is strap-shaped, more than twice as long as broad, 

 with thick rounded front ends, which are arched out in the middle. 

 It is about 4£ inches wide. 



The skull and lower jaw weigh rather above 5f cwt., each lower 

 jaw being 901b. (See fig. 1, pp. 135-137.) 



The ear-bone is very thick, triangular, with three nearly equal 

 sides — which is very like two ear-bones which we have received from 

 South Africa as those of the South-African Whale {Eubalcena 

 australis), and the figures of the ear-bones of that species given by 

 Van Beneden (Ost. Get. t. i. & ii. figs. 13 & 14). The differences 

 between those of the New-Zealand and the Cape Whale are so 

 slight that it would be very difficult to express them in words, and, 

 indeed, to distinguish the specimens from each other. According 

 to Van Beneden, the ear-bones of the young Eubalcena australis are 

 much more rounded, and have larger apertures compared with their 

 size than in the adults (see his figure, t. i. & ii. f. 10 & 1 1). 



The os petrosum to which the New-Zealand specimen is attached 

 is very like, but rather smaller than, the specimens we have of Euba- 

 Icena australis, said to have come from the Cape, and like those 

 figured by Van Beneden (Ost. Cet. t. i. & ii. figs. 1 3 & 14). 



We have a pair in the Museum very similar to the Cape and New- 

 Zealand bones, sent to the Museum as the ear-bdnes of the Sperm- 

 Whale by Mr. H. H. Russell ; but they differ from the three other spe- 

 cimens in having a much larger os petrosum, and a much longer strap- 

 shaped truncated lobe. It may be observed that the ear-bones 

 figured by M. van Beneden as those of his Balcena biscayensis 

 (t. vii. figs. 4-6), which he received from Mr. Cope as the ear-bones 

 of his Balcena cisarctica, are very like those of Eubalcena and 

 Macleayius, and, like them, are much more ventricose than those of 

 the Greenland Whale. Perhaps this led Eschricht to observe that 

 Balcena biscayensis was more like B. australis than B. mysticetus. 



Cervical vertebrae all united by their bodies into one mass and to 

 the first dorsal vertebra, and, all but the first dorsal, by the crests of 

 the dorsal processes, which form a high arched ridge, the crest of 

 the second vertebra being much the largest and highest. All tho 



9* 



