490 Canadian Record of Science 



NOTE ON THE DISCOVERY OF A SKELETON OF 



BELUGA CATODON (WHITE WHALE) IN 



THE PLEISTOCENE (LEDA CLAY) 



AT THE TOWN OF MONTREAL 



EAST, QUEBEC. 



By Edward Ardley, Peter Redpath Museum, McGill 

 University. 



During the present summer, while the Queen City 

 Oil Company were making excavation for a drain in 

 connection with their works at Montreal East, they laid 

 bare a nearly perfect skeleton of a white whale. Before 

 the attention of Mr. Forman, the Superintendent of the 

 works, had been drawn to this interesting discovery the 

 specimen had been somewhat broken by the workmen, 

 but he at once recognizing its scientific value had the 

 greater part of the skeleton carefully removed and a 

 notification of the occurrence sent to the manager of the 

 company. 



The writer, at the request of Dr. Frank D. Adams, 

 visited the locality and removed the skeleton to the 

 Peter Redpath Museum, where it is now being set up, 

 and he desires to extend his thanks to the authorities of 

 the Queen City Oil Company for the facilities which 

 they placed at his disposal, and the help which they ex- 

 tended to him in the recovery of this interesting skeleton. 

 The clay in which the skeleton was found is a typical 

 leda clay, bluish-grey in colour towards the bottom, 

 changing to rusty grey or brown towards the top. It 

 shows no evidence of stratification. When dry, it 

 breaks into joint blocks. It contains a few small bould- 

 ers of limestone. The excavation was 12 feet in width. 

 The skeleton was 10J feet in length. When found it 

 was lying at right angles to the cut, with its head point- 

 ing towards the west, at a depth of 12 feet below the 

 surface. The locality is approximately 15 feet above 

 the St. Lawrence. Associated with the skeleton were 



