R. BROWN ON THE CETACEA OF GREENLAND. 83 



imagine. It is not now known to the whalers ; and as neither of the 

 species referred to have as yet been found in Davis Strait or 

 Baffin's Bay,* they do not come within the limits which I have 

 assigned to myself. 



2. Physalus antiquorum, Gray. 



BalcBnoptera musculus, Flem. Brit. An. p. 30. 

 Rorqualus musculus, F. Cuv. Cetaces, p. 334. 

 BalcBna physalus^ Fab. Fauna. Groenl. p. 35. 



Popular names. — Big Finner, Razorback, (English whalers) ; 

 Sillhval (Swedish) ; Sildror, Roren (Norse) ; Sildreki (Icelandic) ; 

 Tunnolik, Tekkirsok (Greenlanders). 



This species, in common with most of the family BalcBnopteridce^ 

 does not go far north as a rule, but keeps about the Cod*banks 

 of Rifkol, Holsteensborg, and other localities in South Greenland.f 

 They feed upon Cod and other fish, which they devour in immense 

 quantities. DesmoulinsJ mentions 600 being taken out of the 

 stomach of one ; I know an instance in which 800 were found. 

 They often, in common with Balcenoptera Sibbaldii and B. rostrata, 

 wander into the European seas in pursuit of Cod and Herrings, 

 and are quite abundant in the vicinity of Rockal. A few years 

 ago much excitement was got up about the number of " Whales " 

 found' in that locality, and companies were started to kill them, 

 supposing them to be the Right Whale of commerce. As might 

 have been expected, they proved only to be " Finners," which 

 prey on the immense quantities of Cod which are found there. 

 This Whale is accounted almost worthless by the whalers ; and, 

 on account of the small quantity of oil which it yields and the 

 difficulty of capture, it is never attacked unless by mistake or 

 through ignorance. I remember seeing one floating dead in Davis 

 Strait, to which the men rowed, taking it for a Right Whale; 

 but on discovering their mistake they immediately abandoned it. 

 They had not been the first ; for on its sides were cut the names 

 of several vessels which had paid it a visit and did not consider 

 it worth the carriage and fire to try out the oil. The blubber 

 is hard and cartilaginous, not unlike soft glue. Its " blowing " 

 can be distinguished at a distance, by being whiter and lower than 

 that of BalcBna mysticetus. 



3. Balcenoptera Sibbaldii, Gray. 



Sibbaldius borealis, Gray, Cat. Seals and Whales, p. 175. 



Popular names. — This is popularly confounded with the last, and 

 the same names are applied to it by the whalers and Eskimo. It 



* Cranz's description of the Kjiotenfisch, or Knobbelfisch (Greenland, 

 vol. i. p. 146), is not derived from his own knowledge, but, like most of his 

 descriptions, is copied from previous authors. 



f I am aware that this statement is somewhat at variance with Dr. 

 Eschricht's, as contained in his paper on the " Geographical Distribution of 

 some of the Northern Whales" (Forh. Skand. Naturf. Kjob., 1847, p. 103) ; 

 nevertheless I think that it will be found to be substantially correct. 



J Hamilton on Whales (Jardine's Naturalist's Library). 



F 2 



