288 LILLJEBORG ON THE 



uhetlier these two forms should be considered as distinct species or not. Eschricht' mentions that the 

 skeleton in other respects ''stemmede i Eet og Alt med Keporkakskelettets Former j" and states, 

 additionally, that the acromion is larger on the right side than on the left." Strom speaks, at 

 the above-quoted place, of a whale that is found near Sondnnir, and is larger tlian others, 

 and called " Tue Qval," because it has a " Tue eller stor Pukkel paa Hovedet," which he considers to 

 be B.mysticetus. We may, however, take it for granted that it is not the latter, as this never comes so 

 far south, unless by accident.^ Pontoppidan also speaks of this " Tue Qval," and adds the name 

 of " Plockfisch," but says it belongs to the smaller species, and has the hump on the back. Con- 

 sidering that the humpback whale reaches a size but slightly inferior to that of B. mystketus — 60 feet 

 in length — and that Pontoppidan places the hump at its proper place, it appears probable that the name 

 " Tue Qval" used by these authors has reference to the Humpback whale. This name, however, is 

 not generally known on the coasts of Norway, because Eschricht quotes a statement, written by the late 

 Governor Christie, of a Humpback whale that was stranded, in April, 1846, west of Karm 6 in the 

 district of Stavanger, which is spoken of as " Sildehval.' > 



It reaches, according to Holboll and Eschricht, a length of 55 — 60 feet. I have not seen 

 any exact statement of the thickness of its body, but from Rudolphi's figure, which, according to 

 Brandt and Ratzeburg, is executed from accurate measurements, the length of the body is equal 

 to 3j its height at the thickest part, which is somewhat before the middle ; this, however, seems 

 to be rather too much. The head, when seen from above, is Avider than that of B. rosfrafa. 

 At the eyes it projects strongly towards the sides and then tapers very much towards the nose, 

 which has an obtuse point. It is more pointed when seen from the side, with its lower margin, 

 at the chin, strongly convex and rising up. The upper margin is almost straight and somewhat 

 dechning. Both margins converge forward, but the lower curves more than the upper one. 

 The lower jaw is much wider than the upper one, and somewhat longer, so that it surrounds the 

 latter, and the lower lip runs as usual outside of the upper lip, with a projecting border. The 

 head is a little less than ^rd the length of the body. The navel is somewhat behind the middle 

 of the body, and the vent (according to measurements of a foetus 36g" long, given by Eschricht), 

 is at about the beginning of the posterior , length of the body, and according to Rudolphi's 

 figure, a little more forward. The genital organs are between the navel and the vent, a little 

 nearer the latter. The body behind the vent or the tail is very tapering, and towards the caudal 

 fin very much compressed, extending between the lobes of the 'caudal fin with rather' sharp edges 

 above and below. The lower furrows extend to the navel, and are about 24 in number (according 

 to Eschricht), while in B. rostrata they are about 60. The blowers are narrow openings, 

 converging forward. The eyes are immediately above the angle of the mouth. The pectoral fins 

 are about the end of the anterior I length of body, and are very characteristic of this whale. 



■ ' Undersogelser over Hvaldyrene, 6''' Afhandling, K. Danske Vidensk. Selsk. Skr., 5''^ Række,' 

 1 bd., p. 99. 



" [Professor van Beneden has recently published the results of a comparison of the skeleton 

 from the Cape of Good Hope at the Jardin des Plantes, with that of a Northern Megaptera. His 

 conclusion is that they belong to different species. — Bull, tie V Acad. Roy. de Behjique, 2me ser., tom. 

 xviii. No. 12.— W. H. F.] 



' [Stromas "Tue Qual" may possibly be a North Caper {Balæna glacialls, Klein), which, according 

 to Eschricht and Pi,einhardt, has a hump on its neck. — 1865.] 



