KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 40. NIO 5. 27 



are rather long and measure from 20 to 40 cm. (8 — 16 in.), or more on a large blade. 

 The largest blade carried home by Sörling has a length along the outer margin 

 of about 85 cm. without bristles but with the parts in the gum included. On the 

 inner side a piece is broken of, how much is difficult to say, but probably not very 

 much. The present basal breadth is about 48 cm. 



When Burmeister (17) records for one of his types for Balcenoptera intermedia 

 a length of the baleen of 60 cm. and a basal breadth of 24 cm. these proportions 

 appear to be very different from those stated above for the Blue whale of South 

 Georgia. As Burmeister (17) says that he received the complete series of baleen 

 from both sides of the mouth »unversehrt», it can hardly be supposed that he has 

 measured broken blades. The narrowness (when compared with its length) of the 

 baleen of the type may, however, stånd in connection with the youth of the speci- 

 men. It cannot possibly be assumed that there is a race of Blue whale at the coast 

 of Argentine and another at South Georgia. 



The length of the blades from South Georgia is approximately the same as 

 that recorded by True (20) for the baleen of the northern Blue whale. 



The northern and southern Blue whales are certainly, at least very closely 

 related. To decide whether they ought to be regarded as different species or not is for 

 the present impossible until sufficient material, especially osteological, has been col- 

 lected. With regard to the exteriör I think, I remember that Captain Larsen 

 has told me that the southern Blue whale was according to his observations more 

 slender than its northern relative. i In the former the white spöts, which are 

 scattered över the under surface of the latter and especially on the posterior ends 

 of the abdominal ridges, appear to be entirely lacking. At least, Sörling did not 

 observe any such in the specimens examined by him. 



Although no good distinguishing characteristics between the two races are fully 

 known as yet, it is wiser to use Burmeister's name for the southern Blue whale, 

 so that confusion may be avoided. It has already been mentioned that only a dozen 

 Blue whales were shot by Captain Lars en' s whalers and tugged to the factory. 

 Many more could have been killed, but as long as the whaling steamers had any 

 opportunity of catching Right whales or Humpbacks they did not care to trouble 

 themselves with shooting Blue whales. The latter are namely very much leaner, 

 and, having less blubber, 2 they sink when killed. To secure such a whale when 

 killed an iron chain is lashed round its tail, and then, through a hole made with a 

 lance, air is pressed into its abdominal cavity by means of an air-pump and an iron 

 tube. A wooden plug is then put into the hole and the whale is thus kept floating 

 and tugged to the factory. But the Blue whale is at the same time much more 

 difficult to kill than the almost tame Humpbacks, which yield comparatively much 



1 A similar opiniou is expressed by Burmeister (17) when he says, as quoted above, that his B. 

 intermedia »halt in ihrer Statnr die Mitte» between the northern Blue whale and »5. patachonicaa which 

 latter is a slender B. physalus type. 



2 In spite of its size a southern Blue whale did not yield more than 45—55 barrels of oil. Old 

 empty kerosene barrels were used for the transport of the oil, and when the word barrels is used below such 

 are meant. 



