88 “TERRA NOVA” EXPEDITION. 
shores of the North Atlantic, and of the North-Eastern Pacific, are probably all 
members of the one species, M. nodosa, Bonn. As far as our present knowledge 
goes, it would appear that this widely distributed species is the sole representative 
of the genus Megaptera. It is of interest to note that the same world-wide identity 
seems to occur also in the case of the four generally admitted species of the genus 
Balaenoptera, although a fifth species of this genus, B. brydei, recently described, 
has at present only been recorded from the seas off the coast of South Africa.* 
SIZE. 
Tt was very dithcult to obtain exact measurements of whales at the floating 
factories, as the carcases were flensed and cut up in the water and taken on board 
the ship in pieces. When the whales were lying in the sea, previous to the 
dissecting operations, they were generally partially submerged, which prevented 
accurate measurement of their length from being made. Careful measurements 
were collected, however, in the case of the seven specimens seen at the shore station 
Taste I.—Megaptera nodosa, Bonnaterre. 
Length of Males. | Length of Females. 
| 
Feet. 
35 
Average length of Males— | Average length of Females— 
35 feet 40 feet 
at Whangamumu during October, 1911. This compensated to some extent for my 
inability to obtain more than two length-measurements from the many individuals 
which I examined at the floating factories. 
The average length of these nine whales was 38 feet, which is rather too short 
to be typical of all the Humpbacks captured off the Bay of Islands in the season 
of 1912. The largest individual of this species seen during my stay was about 
51 feet long; and I feel vertain that, if it had been possible to measure the 
lengths of a larger number, the average would not have been far short of 40 feet. 
The length-measurements obtained are given in Table 1, and it will be noticed 
* Olsen, Orjan, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1913, pp. 1073-1090, Pls. CIX.-CXITI. 
} Giving suck to calf when shot. 
