1172 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [16] 



knife; never with a saw or ax. If there is time and inclination, in- 

 stead of packing the roughed-out skeleton it would be better to soak 

 the bones in water and scrape them from time to time with a dull 

 knife. As already stated on p. 13, the care with which a specimen 

 should be prei)ared depends upon the time which will elapse before 

 it will reach its destination and the amount of oil which it contains. 



Most desirable parts. — If it is not feasible to preserve the whole 

 skeleton, the most desirable parts are the skull, flippers, lower jaw, 

 ear-bones, or (in the whalebone whales) the nose-bones or pieces of 

 whalebone. 



The sTcull. — The skull should have the flesh roughly removed and if 

 possible be soaked and scraped. Care should be taken not to break 

 the delicate malar or cheek bone which forms the lower border of the 

 eye-socket. The flippers need no preparation unless large ; they may 

 be dried. 



JEar-hones. — The ear-bones are represented by two rounded or oblong 

 bony masses at the back and under part of the skull. With a little 

 care they are readily detached. (See fig. 4, p. 15.) 



Nose-hones. — The nose-bones of the large whalebone whales lie at the 

 extreme upper end of the great front opening of the nose, in the mid- 

 dle line of the skull. In large specimens they do not exceed four or 

 flve inches in length. They are very important in identifying species. 

 (See fig. 5, p. 15.) 



A KEY FOE THE IDEl^TIFICATION OF SPECIMENS. 



In the subjoined key for the identification of the different tribes or 

 genera of whales and porpoises an attempt has been made to employ 

 only such characters as relate to the external appearance. This is 

 somewhat difficult for the reason that some genera which are very much 

 alike externally differ very much internally. Of course, the genera 

 whose names stand near each other in this key are not necessarily 

 closely related; in the classification which is given on page 19 an at- 

 tempt is made to bring the related forms together as well as may be, 

 when the names are placed in a line, one after another. The figures 

 (see plates I-XI) to which the numbers in parentheses relate are in- 

 tended to show as nearly as may be the general form of some character- 

 istic species of each genus. They have been selected from the best 

 figures which are to be found in the available scientific literature, and 

 from photographs and sketches, but some are known to be imperfect. 

 Of the genera Agaphelus, Neohalcpna, and Feresia no figures exist. The 

 lengths given are those of average adult specimens. 



Key to the names of genera. 



[To use this key begin at a^, and if the specimen in hand agrees with 

 the description there given, pass to the letter with the next figure which 

 stands immediately underneath. If the specimen does not agree with 



