OSTEOLOGY OF THE PIGMY WHALE. 93 



50, 48, or even possibly 46. The large species, B. musculus, on the other hand, has 

 as manj' as 62 vertebrae in its skeleton. In the Right Whales the figures given by 

 van Beneden and Gervais are 53-58. Thus JSeobalcena has the shortest vertebral 

 column of the three genera considered. The shortness, it will be observed, is chiefly 

 in the lumbar region, which, consisting as it does of at most 2 vertebrse, is the shortest 

 lumbar region, not merely of any AVhalebone Whale, but of any whale at all. Inia, 

 with 3 of these vertebrae, only just betters it. The 18 dorsals, again, are in excess of 

 any other of the allied whales. 



The cervical mass is completely fused, as in the Right Whales. So far Neobalaena is 

 distinctly referable to this division, and differs from the Rorquals. The fusion of the 

 vertebrae appears to go on during life, becoming more complete, as is shown by the two 

 skeletons dealt with here ; the details need not be recapitulated. The fusion seems to 

 be more thorough than in Balcena. At any rate, the skeleton of an adult Baloena 

 figured by van Beneden and Gervais, which shows no epiphyses in the vertebral column, 

 exhibits distinctly the lines of separation of all the cervicals from top to bottom of the 

 neural arch. T"he same may be said of the cervical mass of an adult Greenland W^hale 

 figured by the same authors. In this skeleton, however, the epiphyses of the vertebrae 

 have not entirely become coalesced. Another distinguishing character of this whale 

 appears to be the great wing-like masses formed by the lower transverse processes. 

 In short, it will be apparent from the illustrations that in this region of the vertebral 

 column Neohalwna carries to an excess the characteristics of Balmna. 



It must be noted, however, that though on the whole the cervical mass of Neohalceva 

 most resembles that of the Right Whales, there is one feature in which it disagrees 

 with the characteristics of those vertebrae in the genus Balcena and cornes rather nearer 

 to the Rorquals. In Balcena the lower transverse processes of the cervical mass are 

 often reduced, and the second and following ones are much feebler than the first or the 

 first two. In the Rorquals, on the other hand, the equally strong development of the 

 lower transverse processes of these vertebrae is a distinctive mark. They are well 

 developed and equally so in all of them ; but the processes, like the vertebrae them- 

 selves, preserve their independence. It is perhaps permissible to call attention to this 

 as a point of affinity between Neohalmna and Balcenoptera, though on the whole the 

 differences between the cervical region in Neohalcena and in other Rorquals are more 

 striking than the likenesses. 



The most remarkable feature about the dorsal series of vertebrse is of course the fact 

 that tlie first dorsal appears to have no rib. Its transverse process does not stand out 

 as far as those of the succeeding vertebrae ; there is thus hardly room for a rib except 

 a very minute one, which might conceivably have got lost. It is to be remembered, 

 however, that in both skeletons this rib is wanting, and indeed the next one also 

 in the immature skeleton. Furthermore, the first actual rib (the second of a hypo- 

 thetical series) articulates with the sternum, as is always the case with the first vertebra 



