1882.] ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE COMATUL&. 731 
thirteen feet one inch, the other twelve feet six inches, which may 
be taken as the average size of the circumference of the head of the 
full-grown male. 
In the past three seasons I have seen thousands of them; and 
from constant careful observation while they were in life, and very 
often close about the ship—also when dead, examining many of 
their skulls after being taken on board and flenched, the only con- 
clusion that can be come to is, that there is but one species of the 
Bottlenose Whale inhabiting the Northern seas. ‘There are no flat- 
headed females. It is only the older males that have the flat per- 
pendicular heads notched back towards the beak, with high crest 
and close frontal bones. 
The accompanying sketches of male Whales (figs 1-5, p. 728), 
and photographs of their skulls (figs. 6-9, p. 729), will help to show 
how their heads flatten, and also the progressive manner in which 
the bones of the head enlarge and close up as they become older. 
3. On the Classification of the Comatule. By P. Herserr 
Carpenter, M.A., Assistant Master at Eton College. 
[Received November 23, 1882. ] 
In the last part of the Proceedings of this Society Prof. F. J. 
Bell! has proposed “a method of formulating the results attained 
to, as regards our knowledge of the specific characters of the mem- 
bers”’ of the family Comatulide. 
That such a method is absolutely necessary for systematic work 
in a family which comprises so few genera but so many species, was 
made clear to me before I had been studying the group for many 
months ; and I was therefore in no way surprised to hear that Prof. 
Bell had arrived at the same conclusion soon after his commencing 
the examination of the large collection of Comatule in the British 
Museum, together with the very remarkable series sent home by 
Dr. Coppinger, of H.M.S. ‘ Alert.” I am sorry, however, that 
Prof. Bell has so soon published his system of formulation; for 
I cannot but think that a little more experience of the remarkable 
variations in the group-characters would have caused him to modify 
it considerably. 
I had intended to reserve any publication of the method of for- 
mulation which has gradually developed itself during my work on 
the ‘ Challenger,’ ‘ Blake,’ and other collections, until the appear- 
ance of the ‘Challenger’ Report. But the numerous errors con- 
tained in Prof. Bell’s paper require an immediate correction, which 
would be out of place in the ‘ Challenger ’ volumes. 
Prof. Bell’s method is an ingenious one, especially where he 
1 “An Attempt to apply a Method of Formulation to the Species of the Co- 
matulide ; with the Description of anew Species,” P. Z. 8. 1882, part iii. pp. 530- 
536, Pl. XXXYV. 
