130 
NEW-YORK FAUNA. 
THE BEAKED RORQUAL. 
Rorqualus rostratus. 
PLATE XXX. FIG. 1. 
Balama rostrata. Fabricius, Faun. Greenland, p. 40. 
Baltenoptera acuto-rostrata. Lacepede, Cet. p. 134, pi. 4. 
B. rostrata. Scoresby, Arct. Regions. 
Rorqualus minor. Knox, Nat. Lib. Vol. G, p. 142, pi. 7. 
Characteristics. Bluish black; greyish white beneath, with numerous flesh-colored folds on 
the throat and belly. Baleen white, divided into 320 plates on each side. 
Vertebrae 48. Length 16- 25 feet. 
Description. Body cylindrical, and gently tapering from the swimming paws to the head 
and tail; towards the tail the body becomes much compressed, and forms a ridge which runs 
a few inches on the tail. Head smaller than the body, long, narrow and pointed ; the outline 
of the head separated from the dorsal outline by a slight depression. The upper mandible, 
from the commencement of the baleen, is 42•0 long, and 4 ‘ 0 shorter than the lower, into 
which it is received; furnished with baleen of a whitish color, which has a hoary appearance 
on its fringed edges. The laminae, as nearly as could be ascertained by repeated countings, 
amount to three hundred and twenty on each side; they were of various lengths, from two 
to eleven inches, gradually increasing from the snout posteriorly. The spiracles two, placed 
at the extremity of the ridge on the upper jaw, a little forward of a line drawn upwards from 
the eyes : They are 7‘ 0 long, and gradually approach each other to within O’ 75 in front; pos¬ 
teriorly they are 3•0 apart, and are separated from each other by a deep furrow 9 ■ 0 long. 
Lower jaw acute, rather stouter, and 4 • 0 longer than the upper. Eyes large, but appear 
small, as they are much covered by'the eyelids ; a deep furrow above and beneath, placed 
above and near the angle of the mouth. The ears not visible, but their situation is determined 
by a very slight change in the appearance of the skin, which yields rather more than the sur¬ 
rounding parts to pressure ; they are about 5’0 behind and a little below the eyes. Tongue 
large, free and very fat; beneath it the skin of the throat is very dilatable. Roof of the mouth 
smooth. No vestige of a tooth c ould be seen or felt in the lower jaw. Swimming paws 25 • 0 
long, oblong, tapering, and attached vertically to the body about two-thirds of the distance 
from the dorsal protuberance to the angle of the mouth. (In the figure this is incorrectly given.) 
Dorsal eminence leathery, elastic, triangular, a foot high, broad at the base, and placed above 
the vent. Tail horizontal, bilobate, its tips pointed. Chin and throat with numerous furrows 
0-5 to l'O deep, extending some distance over the abdomen, and presenting a waved appear¬ 
ance on the chin and throat. 
Color. Bluish black above, pearly white beneath, but this has changed to a faint pink, 
especially in the furrows, owing, I imagine, to the settling of the blood in those parts. Lips 
white. Swimming paws white in the middle, black at the base and extremities. Under side 
of the tail whitish. 
