THE FINWHALE FISHERY OF 1885. 129 
Rorquals were killed last season, although, from the small 
amount of blubber to be got from them, they are never 
hunted when there is a chance of any other Whale, fully shows 
how numerous this species was. I was not fortunate enough to 
have an opportunity of examining closely a Whale of this species 
in its entirety, but only a few krangs, among which was that of 
a male flensed just before I arrived at one of the factories at 
Vard6 on the morning of August 25th. This had been taken off 
Kildin Island, on the Murmanski coast. It measured 45 ft. along 
the curves, or probably about 48 ft. in a straight line. Nose to 
inner edge of blow-holes, 7 ft. 9in. The blow-holes are set at 
about right angles to long axis, and adjoin. Width of skull, 
opposite blow-holes, 3 ft. 6in. Lower jaw, 11 ft. 6in., along 
outside of curve. Although the blubber was cut off, the pieces 
were still lying close by, showing that the back was jet-black, 
light greyish slate colour on sides ; purplish white on belly, the 
concavities of the ribbings purple or livid colour, but black 
extending over part of the ribbings; the amount of grey and 
white is said to vary in different individuals.* Flukes, fore and 
aft, to central fork, 2ft.9}in. Black above, light greyish lead- 
colour underneath. Fin large and upstanding, about 21 in. high, 
and about 2 ft. 8in. along the base. The flippers were 6 ft. long, 
jet-black all over, both sides alike. In the example of Rudolphi’s 
Rorqual from the River Crouch (Essex), I noted the under side 
of the flippers as white, but (as I had only a hasty look at it) 
I presume this was a mistake, for Professor Flower, in his 
description of the same specimen (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, p. 514), 
remarks “the flippers being black,” and I this year had the 
opportunity of examining thirty odd pairs of flippers of this 
species, and they were without exception entirely black on both 
sides. They may be distinguished from the flippers of the 
Common Rorqual, besides the colour, by the latter being blunt- 
edged, like the flat handle of a plain ivory paper-knife, while the 
Rudolphi’s are sharp, like the blade. This is especially noticeable 
* Tn the paper on this species by Prof. Collett, previously referred to, he 
says that this species during life is not much darker than the Blue Whale. 
That many (possibly all) species of Cetacea become darker after death is well 
known, but, while some pieces of the epidermis of the Blue Whale, which I 
obtained in 1884, remain of a grey-blue colour (not particularly dark), 
a portion of the epidermis of this specimen is jet-black, as it was when 
I peeled it off. ; 
