20 CALIFORNIA MAMMALS. 



Balsenoptera physalus velifera Cope. (Sail bearing.) 



OREGON FINBACK WHALE. 



Large; color blackish above, white below. 

 North Pacific Ocean. 



"A Finback picked up by Captain Poole of the bark Sarah 

 Warren, of San Francisco, affords us the following memoranda ; 

 length 65 feet ; thickness of blubber 7 to 9 inches ; yield of oil 75 

 barrels ; color of blubber a clear white ; top of head quite as flat 

 and straight as that of a Humpback ; baleen, the longest, 2 feet 

 4 inches; the greatest width 13 inches; its color a light lead 

 streaked with black, and its surface presents a ridgy appearance 

 crosswise, length of fringe to bone 2 to 4 inches, and in size the 

 fringe may be compared to a cambric needle. 



"A Balxiioptei'a which came ashore near the outer heads of 

 the Golden Gate gave us the opportunity of obtaining the follow- 

 ing rough measurements; length 60 feet; from nib-end to pec- 

 torals 15 feet; from nib-end to corner of mouth 12 feet; expansion 

 of caudal fins 14 feet. Its side fins and flukes are in like pro- 

 portion to the body as in the California Gray. Its throat and 

 breast are marked with deep creases or folds, similar to the 

 Humpback. Color of sides and back black or blackish brown 

 (in some indviduals a curved band of lighter shade marks its 

 upper sides, between the spiracles and pectorals) ; belly a milky 

 white. Its back-fin is placed nearer tO' the caudal than the hump 

 on the Humpback, and in shape approaches a right angled 

 triangle, but rounded on the forward edge, curved on the opposite 

 one; the longest side joins the back in some examples, and in 

 others the anterior edge is the longest. The gular folds spread 

 on each side of the pectorals and extend half the length of the 

 body. 



"The habitual movements of the Finback in several points 

 are peculiar. When it respires the vaporous breath passes quick- 

 ly through its spiracles, and when a fresh supply is drawn into 

 its breathing system, a sharp and somewhat musical sound may 



