400 BAL^NOPTEEIDiE. ^ 



skeletons are exhibited in the Metropolis, that of one 

 taken in the Thames in May, 1859, being shown at Rosher- 

 ville Gardens, and that of a male cast up near Falmouth 

 in 1863 is mounted at the Alexandra Park. Specimens 

 have been recorded on the Irish coasts. 



The Common Rorqual, like the rest of the family, is 

 remarkable for its strength and activity, swimming at 

 the rate of twelve miles an hour and exhibiting little 

 fear of man. As its baleen and blubber are inferior in 

 both quantity and quality, it is generally avoided by the 

 AVbalers, who regard it as at once valueless and dangerous, 

 and dislike its appearance as being a proof that they have 

 not yet reached the waters frequented by the Right- 

 Whale. 



The Razor-backed Rorqual has a somewhat small head, 

 the sides of the upper jaw gradually narrowing towards 

 the apex. The upper parts, including the pectorals, are 

 black, but owing to their polished surface appear in some 

 lights to be grey ; this dark colour is gradually shaded 

 off on the flanks, and the throat and belly are white, 

 the skin between the plicae being of a rosy tint. The 

 baleen is of a dark slate, variously streaked and variegated 

 with brown or yellowish-white, especially in front, and 

 the bristles on the interior edge of the plates are whitish. 

 The hinder part of the body is much compressed, and the 

 sharp ridges thus formed on the back and belly run out 

 into the tail. 



In the skeleton the sternum has somewhat the form of 

 a trefoil, and is broader than it is long : there are usually 

 sixty-one or sixty-two vertebrae, and fifteen pairs of ribs, of 

 which the first is sometimes, though rarely, double-headed. 



The adult Razor-back attains a length of sixty to 

 seventy feet, or perhaps a little more. The following are 

 some of the measurements of the male cast ashore at 



