140 ON A SKELETON OF A WHALE IN THE 



compare those in which he was especially interested. Hence it 

 will not, it is hoped, appear an unnecessary nndertaking- to give 

 a full description with illustrations of different bones, of this 

 very valuable and interesting specimen. 



The bones described by Dr. Gilpin were found in a cutting 

 of the Intercolonial Railway on the Jacquet liiver, Bay de 

 Chaleurs, ISTew Brunswick. '' After cutting through about 

 twelve feet of sand and gravel a bed of clay was reached. In 

 this the bones were bedded." Numerous shells common in 

 Pleistocene deposits, as Saxicava, Mya, Macoma, occurred in 

 the clay. 



There came to the writer from the Halifax museum twenty- 

 three bones, namely : two fragments of the basioccipital, both 

 scapulas, though considerably broken, one periotic, the sternum, 

 four dorsal vertebrse, five lumbar vertebra?, eight caudal ver- 

 tebrse. Dr. Gilpin mentions '^ a small portion of the atlas, 

 twelve fragments of the skull, about one hialf of a lower jaw, 

 one humerus, radius, ulna, phalanx," in addition to those named 

 above. These bones appear to have been mislaid. At any rate 

 they were not among those which I received. All the bones 

 are chalky, brittle, and more or less broken. Of the total skele- 

 ton, the following bones are represented : 



The Periotic. — The left periotic is all that was found of 

 the ear bones. This bone has, as the lower figures on plate I 

 show, the usual irregular form. This can be better appreciated 

 by examination of the figures than by any verbal description. 

 It is shown in the figures of natural size. 



jSTo other bones of the head, except two fragments from the 

 base of the skull were among those sent. It iis especially unfor- 

 tunate that more of the cranium was not found, for, as will 

 appear later, if we could have the front part of the rostrum 

 it would be easy to determine with absolute certainty at least 

 the genus of this specimen. 



