206 THE ANTARCTIC MANUAL. 
other large cetaceans of the Southern seas. Some, like the pigmy 
whale and the southern bottle-nose, are peculiar to the seas of the 
Southern Hemisphere, but none appear to be exclusively denizens of 
the cireumpolar ocean. That is to say, not only is there no Antarctic 
representative of the Greenland right whale, but there is no cetacean 
in the southern seas corresponding either to the white whale (Delphi- 
nupterus), to the black fish (Globiceps), or to the narwhal of the North 
Polar ocean. Of course there is the possibility that such a creature 
may be discovered, but none is known to science at the present day. 
Of many of the cetaceans that habitually frequent the Southern 
ocean the species is definitely known, but in other cases—notably 
among the rorquals—our information in this respect is most defec- 
tive. Any observations as to the time when whales that can be 
specifically, or even generically, identified visit particular latitudes, 
and how far south they range, would be of the utmost value. If 
specimens are captured, and it is found impossible to bring home the 
entire skeleton, the best plan would be to preserve the skeleton of 
one of the flippers, one half of the lower jaw, and the two shell-like 
tympanic bones of the inner ear. 
Of the larger cetaceans definitely known to range as far south in 
the Antarctic seas as lat. 50°, or thereabouts, the most important is 
the southern right whale (Balena australis). It may be recognised 
by its black colour, short and deep build, enormous head, and the 
absence of a back fin. It has the usual long whalebone of the right 
whales, although the plates of this substance are much shorter, and 
therefore less valuable, than those of its Arctic relative. Whether 
this whale was ever abundant in the Southern seas, and, if so, whether 
its numbers have been seriously reduced by expeditions despatched 
from southern ports, are points upon which information is required. 
In the southern winter they are known to journey northwards to 
breed, but we have no knowledge how far south they habitually go 
at other seasons, nor their lines of route. 
The other right whale of the Southern Hemisphere is the pigmy 
whale (Neobalena marginata), a species peculiar to these .seas, and 
only growing to a length of about twenty feet. It may be recognised 
by its white “bone.” Originally described in the ‘Zoology of the 
Ercbus and Terror, by Gray, from Western Australia, it was re-named 
by him on the evidence of specimens from New Zealand, and has 
been of late years identified by Dr. Moreno * on the Atlantic side of 
South America. Its only commercial value would apparently be for 
its oil, and of this there would be no great amount. 
* «An. Mus. La Plata; Seceion Zoologica,’ iti. (1895), 
