28 E. LÖNNBERG, CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FAUNA OF SOUTH GEORGIA. 



more oil. The carcass of a Blue Whale is also very heavy to manage when the 

 weather is bad. This differen.ee has afforded some protection to the Blue whales 

 as yet. 



The southern Blue whale inhabits the seas round South Georgia the whole year 

 and does not seem to raigrate. The area where it generally is found is a couple of 

 english miles from the shore, nearer to the shore than where the Humpback schools 

 go. The Blue whales appear usually in small companies of 2 — 3 together. It is 

 less lively than the Finback and somewhat easier to catch. Sörling observed Blue 

 whales not only at South Georgia but the whole way up to Buenos Aires when he 

 returned in Oct. 1905. Even when he had left Buenos Aires for Europé he saw a 

 Blue whale accompanying the steamer a whole day off Rio Gr an de do Sul. Sör- 

 ling observes that the steamer was painted grey and rather similar to a Blue whale 

 in colour only somewhat lighter, and this may have been an attraction. 



The »blow» or spout of the Blue whale is not so high as that of the Finback, 

 Sörling says, and more ?broom-shaped». Wilson (14) estimates the height of the 

 spout to 12- — 15 feet. Sörling says, that it is difficult to decide how high the jet 

 of vapour really is, but assumes that it must be considerable as the spouts of the 

 Blue whale could be seen at so far a distance that it appeared to be at the horizon. 



When the Blue whale sounds it stays below the surface more than a quarter 

 of an hour according to Racowitza's (18) opinion but he is not quite sure about the 

 correctness of his observation. According to Sörling it remains below from 10- — 15 

 to 30 minutes. 



It does not show the caudal fin when it sounds, an observation in which Ra- 

 covitza and Sörling agree. 



Its food consists of »kril», that is Euphausiids. 



Balaenoptera quoyii (Fischer) 1830. 



Syn: Balerna Quoyii Fischer 1830. 

 ? Balcenoptera australis auet. 

 Balcenoptera patachonica Burmeister 1865. 

 Physalus australis Hector 1875. 

 Balcenoptera musculus? Parker 1884. 



A skeleton of a male speciraen shot ontside Royal Bay, South Georgia the 2d of Jan. 1905, 

 Several pieces of baleen of the same. 



There prevails a great confusion concerning the names of the southern Finback. 

 Fischer's description is rather unsufficient, but the recorded length of the whale and 

 what he says about its dorsal fin etc. agrees better with a Finback than with a 

 Blue whale and when the habitat of the animal is said to be in the seas round the 

 Falklands it does not seem too risk}'- to accept Fischer's name for the southern 

 Finback of the Atlantic hemisphere. If this again is identical with the Finback of 

 New Zealand, or not, is, of course, not yet proved, but as it seems probable the 



