WHALES AND PORPOISES 51 



with the same longitudinal folds as in other rorquals. The back 

 fin is unimportant, and only just discernible as a slight excres- 

 cence. Rudolphi's Rorqual inhabits the Atlantic, the North Sea, 

 and the British Channel. It is also thought that it or a closely- 

 allied form is found in the Indian Ocean. Its discovery as a 

 member of the British fauna seems to date no further back than 

 1872, when one was stranded on the shores of the Firth of Forth. 

 Subsequently Rudolphi's rorqual was found repeatedly on the 

 east and south-east coasts of England. A fine example actually 

 entered the Thames, and was captured at Tilbury in 1887. 

 Another entered the Medway, and was stranded near Rochester 

 in 1888. This one was said to utter sounds like the crying of a 

 child when it found itself hopelessly stranded. It is stated that 

 Rudolphi's whale feeds exclusively on small crustaceans and never 

 touches fish, but this is doubtful in view of the fact that the one 

 which entered the Thames in 1887 did so in pursuit of a shoal of 

 sprats. 



Balanoptera acuto-rostrata. The Lesser Rorqual, or 

 Pike Whale 



This whale is quite commonly captured or stranded on the 

 coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The female is said 

 to seek the vicinity of the coast when about to bring forth her 

 young. The Lesser Rorqual is the smallest of all this family 

 of whales. It scarcely exceeds 30 ft. in length, and is usually 

 smaller. The colour of the upper parts is blackish-gray, rather 

 sharply distinguished from the white of the throat and belly. 

 There is a white band across the flipper. The long creases or 

 folds which mark the throat and a portion of the stomach are 

 often orange-coloured, and sometimes black in the inner part 

 of the fold. The baleen is yellowish-white. The dorsal fin is 

 placed higher up in the body than in other rorquals, and is 



longer. 



This whale is of relatively common occurrence along the 

 British coasts. Elsewhere it is found in the North Sea, and as 

 far north as the Arctic Ocean, and over the whole of the North 



