eryde's whale. 1079 



The majority of specimens of Bryde's whale are very thin, and 

 their stratum of fat has an average thickness of only 4-5 cms. 

 In a single instance — that of an old and probably diseased female 

 specimen from Durban — the thickness was only about 3*5 cms. 

 Some big sjoecimens, especially females with foetus, may be quite 

 fat and their stratum of fat may attain a thickness of as much 

 as 7 cms., at any rate on the dorsal side. Specimens as fat as 

 this may yield 15 or occasionally nearly 20 barrels of oil, while 

 the common yield of this species is only 6-8 barrels. 



Baleen. 



During my stay in S. Africa I was able to examine the baleen 

 of twelve adult specimens, and also a large quantity of whale- 

 bone which lay heaped up outside Mr. Bryde's whaling station in 

 Saldanha Bay. 



The baleen of B. brydei is very distinctive of this species, and 

 compared with the size of the whale, very small (see PI. CXII. 

 fig. 11 b). The longest baleen-plates measured by me, and from 

 a female specimen of nearly 15 metres in length, were only 

 0"49 metre long (the bristles not included), while baleen from a 

 Rudolphi's whale of the same size attains a length of abovit 

 0'70 metre. The baleen differs remarkably in shape from that 

 of B. borealis ; whereas the baleen-plates of B. horealis are very 

 long and slender, those of B. brydei are comparatively very broad 

 and curve inwards along the inner margin. The comparative 

 proportions of the breadth of the largest baleen-plates at their 

 base and their length were in four specimens of B. brydei :— 

 43, 43"1, 46'9, and 47 per cent., which gives an average of 45 per 

 cent. In B. borealis the same proportion is about 27"2 per cent, 

 (see PI. CXII. fig. 1 1 a). The baleen of B. brydei seems also to be 

 comparatively somewhat thicker and more strongly built than in 

 B. borealis. The number of plates in twelve specimens examined 

 by me was, as a rule, about 260 in each jaw, though the number 

 varied between 250 and 280. But if the rudimentary plates are 

 included, the number may be about 350. The number of baleen- 

 plates in B. brydei is remarkably small ; for Rudolphi's whale the 

 number (without the rudimentaiy baleen) is from 320 to 340, 

 and in the fin-whale from 360 to 400. 



The rudimentary plates along the tip of the upper jaAv are not 

 compressed, and attain a length of 0* 10-0* 15 metre; they are 

 numerous and difiicult to count. The first compressed plate 

 is seen about 0"25-0*30 metre behind the tip of the snout. 

 There is also some rudimentaiy baleen above the angle of the 

 mouth . 



The bristles (PI. CXII. fig. 10) are longer than in B. borealis 

 and thick and stifi^, not curling, and on the whole of very strong 

 construction — even comparatively stronger than in the fin-whale. 

 Their average thickness is about 1 mm. ; a little more at the 

 distal end of the baleen, and perhaps a little less at the base. 



