130 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. — 1915, 



(c) Flukes. — The flukes of the Fin Whale frequently overlap in 

 the middle line. The posterior margin of each fluke forms a rounded 

 lobe as it approaches the middle line, and to the presence of these lobes 

 the formation of the caudal notch is due. Tn some cases the notch is 

 open, i.e., the flukes do not overlap, and in any case the lobes never 

 fuse. 



From the examination of eighteen whales the following result was 

 obtained : 



Notch open 6 



Left fluke uppermost 8 



Right „ „ 4 



In the Blue "Whales numbers 1 and 3, and in the Sejhval the notch 

 was open. 



(2) Sejhval (B. borealis Lesson). 

 As in 1914, the only specimen seen was a female. A number oJ 

 white patches, which appeared to be healed cuts, were observed on the 

 right side of this animal. They were about 2i in. long and f in. wide. 

 There were 306 plates of baleen on the left side of the mouth. 



VI. Food. 



In only one case was any trace of food other than ' Krill ' found m 

 the stomach of any species. The exception was No. 28, a Finner, in 

 the rectum of which a number of small fish otoliths were found; they 

 were about ^ in. long. The presence of these can scarcely be regarded 

 as evidence that the whale had been feeding on fish, since small fish 

 might very easily have been taken in if they were mingled with the 

 'Krill.' 



VII. Notes on Miscellaneous Specimens Preserved. 



(a) Under this heading a cyst was described in the Report for 1913.' 

 During the 1914 season similar objects were met with, but as they 

 appear to be precisely similar it is not necessary to describe them. 



(b) On the exterior of the stomach of No. 28 Finner, $ , four 

 spherical, soft bodies were found. They were loosely attached to the 

 wall of the organ, and are about 1| in. in diameter. In section a fairly 

 thick fibrous capsule is visible, while bands or sheets of the same 

 material run through the mass of the specimen. The considerable inter- 

 vening spaces are partly empty in the preserved specimen and partly 

 filled with material of a uniform consistency. This appears to have been 

 partly cellular, and in it here and there small rounded objects are visible. 

 They stain uniformly with borax carmine, or the stainable material 

 takes the form of a collection of minute dots of varying size. 



It may be suggested that these darkly staining masses denote 

 the presence of some Protozoan parasite. But I find on reference to 

 my diary that Whale No. 28 is described as ' very rotten. ' It is there- 

 fore obvious that no histological detail can be made out with any 

 certainty. 



' British Association Report, p. 138 (a), 1914. 



