604 PROF. W. H. FLOWER ON FOUR SPECIMENS _ [Dec. 9, 
The dimensions of this tooth are:—Entire length -4"; length of 
portion above the alveolar margin ‘25'; diameter at the base of the 
crown, in either direction, *14". 
The specimen is deposited in the British Museum, along with a 
large series of skins and skeletons of the same species collected by 
Mr. Blanford. 
The following papers were read :— 
1. Notes on four Specimens of the Common Fin-whale (Phy- 
salus antiquorum, Gray; Balenoptera musculus, auct.) 
stranded on the South Coast of England. By Wituiam 
Henry Fiower, F.R.S. &e. 
(Plate XLVII.) 
On the 20th of November last the crew of a fishing-boat belonging 
to Langston in Hampshire brought in the dead body of a large 
Whale, which they had found floating in the sea about fifteen miles 
from Havre. They succeeded in beaching the carcase near Fort 
Cumberland, at the entrance to Langston Harbour, about two miles 
east of Portsmouth. Hearing that it was being exhibited at this 
place, I went to see it on the morning of the 25th of November, and 
put down a few notes upon its external characters, which may be 
worth the notice of the Society, as it is only by recording all infor- 
mation which can be derived from every available example that an 
accurate history of these great Cetaceans can be obtained. 
Unfortunately the present specimen, in some respects, afforded 
even less information than usual, in consequence of the very advanced 
state of decomposition it was in. The cuticle had almost entirely 
peeled off the surface ; moreover fish and sea-birds (with which the 
part of the carcase floating above the surface of the water was 
covered when first discovered) had committed ravages upon many 
parts of the superficial tissues ; consequently the natural colour was 
completely destroyed, and the whole animal appeared of a uniform 
dirty yellowish white. It was therefore in much the same condition 
as the large Fin-whale stranded at Pevensey in November 1865, and 
described in the ‘Proceedings’ of this Society for that year, at 
page 699*. As far as could be judged by the external characters, 
it belonged to the same species. 
The animal was lying on the right side, which position enabled 
me to obtain a view of the blow-holes and also of the dorsal fin, 
which were not seen in the Pevensey Whale, and to obtain a pretty 
exact general outline of its form (see Plate XLVII. fig. 1). 
All zoological figures of large Whales must be looked upon in the 
light of compilations from various data, or as restorations from mea- 
* The skeleton of this animal is now in the Anatomical Museum of the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge, having been, fortunately, secured in a perfect condition 
by Mr. J. W. Clark, the zealous curator of that excellent collection. 
