CETACEA OF THE NEW ZEALAND SEAS. 563 



The Sei Whale does not appear to be common south of the 

 Equator. The following are the only known occurrences of the 

 species in I^few Zealand waters : — - 



Off Bay of Islands. — (a) Exterior described by Lillie. Baleen 

 black, with fine greyish-white bristles. (6) A male specimen, 

 14 m. long, was brought into the whaling-station at Whanga- 

 mumu during my visit on the 5th December, 1911. It had 

 been harpooned, the weapon passing right through the body 

 and exploding in the water. Colour above slate, sides mottled, 

 below silvery white ; iris dark brown ; baleen dark slate, 

 upper inner angle streaked longitudinally with lighter, bristles 

 white. Dorsal fin falcate. Flipper with lower edge nearly 

 straight, upper rounded. Plaits between the fins 60., 7 or 8 

 more on each side behind the eye. Plaits begin about 25 cm. 

 from the tip of flipper and anterior edge of fin. Contour 

 of back nearly straight, suddenly depressed in front of flukes. 

 Hairs on lower jaw in two rows; inside row with 12 on right 

 side, 13 on left; outside row 1 on right, 2 on left side; total,, 

 28 hairs. There are some punctures behind the hairs, and others 

 in front of the body-plaits. Measurements : Total length, 14 m. ; 

 snout to anterior edge of flipper, 3'80 m. ; snout to anterior edge 

 of dorsal fin, 9*40 m. ; height of fin, 40 cm. ; length of upper 

 edge of flipper, 115 cm.; its width, 38 cm.; height of body, about 

 180 cm. Baleen plates, 11'5 to 12*5 mm. apart; length of 

 front plates, 8 cm., of longest 34 cm. The mouth was filled with 

 small crustaceans. The colours noted above were taken shortly 

 after the whale was killed, and are lighter than those usually 

 recorded. Lillie makes a similar observation. 



Cook Strait. — During a heavy gale at the end of January 1922, 

 the carcase of an adult female of the Sei Whale floated through 

 the entrance of Porirua Harbour and stranded opposite Paremata. 

 It measured 53 feet in length. It had been dead some time, and 

 caused a good deal of consternation among residents of the 

 locality. The carcase was subsequently towed to sea and cast 

 adrift. 



Bal^noptera acutorostrata. 



Balcenoptera acutorostrata Lacepede, 1804, Hist. Nat. Cet. vol. i, 

 p. 197 ; Lillie, 1915, 'Terra Nova' Exped., Zool. vol. i. pis. 4, 5. 

 Balmnoptera rostrata Fabricius, von Haast, 1881, Trans. N.Z. 

 Inst. vol. xiii. p. 169, pi. 3 ; Benham, 1901, Proc. Zool. Soc. 

 1901, vol. i. p. 278 ; id. 1902, Trans. N.Z. Inst. vol. xxxiv. p. 151. 

 Balcenoptei-a huttoni Gray, 1874, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist, ser, 4,. 

 vol. xiii. p. 450 ; Hector, 1878, Trans. N.Z. Inst. vol. x. p. 337. 

 Physalus antarcticus Gray, 1874, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 4, 

 vol. xiii, p. 316. 



The Pike Whale, like its congeners, is widely distributed All 

 the I'ecords certainly identified from New Zealand have been 

 from the South Island. In addition to the following specimens, 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1922, No. XXXIX. 39 



