12 Geo. 5 Provincial Museum Retort. M 9 



quite plentiful. From this information it is reasonable to think that upon further research a 

 new subspecies may be recognized. Much more material, however, and in better condition is 

 wanted and very desirable. Dr. Merriam states they have in the collection at Washington on ■ 

 similar specimen from Lake Bennet. 



From time to time numerous reports have reached this Department of chipmunks having 

 heen seen in various localities on Vancouver Island, but upon close investigation we have been 

 unable to substantiate any proof of their occurrence, and I very much doubt if chipmunks were 

 ever native inhabitants of Vancouver Island, although some time about the year ivis Mi-. Albert 

 H. Maynard, Of Victoria, B.C., collected two chipmunks mi the beach at Esquimalt. These skins, 

 I understand from Mr. Maynard, were given to the late John Fannin, who was Director of ti:i> 

 Museum at that time, but I cannot And any record of these skins in this Department ; presumably 

 they must have been sent to some authority for verification and not returned. Until such time 

 as these skins can he located and their identity established, we cannot include them in the local 

 fauna of Vancouver Island. It is possible that these two chipmunks which Mr. Maynard mentions 

 may have been two animals that had been in captivity and liberated. (F. K.) 



With further reference to the Notes on Mammals on page 10, l'rov. Mus. Rep. 1020, " .Voles 

 on the Occurrence of a Humpbacked Whale having Hind Legs," a description of this was 

 published by Mr. Roy Chapman Andrews in the American Museum Novitates No. !), and is 

 herewith copied, giving further descriptions and conclusions in regard to this remarkable case 

 of external hind limbs in a humpbacked whale. 



This is printed with the object that through our Annual Report it may become known to 

 local residents who may be interested in this extraordinary find at Kyuquot Station. 



It appears to have made quite a stir with a number of scientists, and the Director is in. 

 receipt of correspondence from Dr. Othenis Ahel, Professor de Palaeontologie an der Wiener 

 Universitat, who has puhlished several pamphlets on whales and who wishes further information, 

 if possible, concerning this remarkable find. 



A REMARKABLE CASE OF EXTERNAL HIND LIMBS IN A HUMPBACK WHALE. 



By Roy Chapman Andrews. 



In July, 1019, a female humpback whale (Megaptera nodosa) with two remarkable protru- 

 sions on the ventral side of the body, posteriorly, was captured by a ship operating from the 

 whaling-station at Kyuquot. on the west coast of Vancouver Island. British Columbia. . 



One of the protrusions was cut off by the crew of the vessel, but the other was photographed 

 in situ by the superintendent of the station. .Mr. Sidney Buck and Mr. Lawson, officials of the 

 Consolidated Whaling Company, appreciated the importance of tin- discovery and presented the 

 skeletal remains of the attachment to the Provincial Museum. Victoria. B.C. 



At my request, Mr. Francis Kermode, Director of the Provincial Museum, very courteously 

 submitted the hones to me with permission to publish upon the result of my examination. 



Under date of March 1th, 1920, Mr. Buck writes to Mr. Kermode as follows: — 



"I enclose herewith three photographs showing the unusual development of the pelvic 

 rudimeuts in a whale captured at the Kyuquot Station last July, of which you have the bones. 

 It is to be regretted that better pictures in evidence of this unprecedented development were 

 not obtained. 



" I have been connected with the whaling industry for twent.v-two years and during my 

 time have come in contact with prominent naturalists, such as Professor True, of tiie Smithsonian 

 Institute; Professor Lucas, of the Natural History Museum. Brooklyn:* and Professor Andrews, 

 of the Natural History Museum, New York, and neither in their experience or mine have the 

 protrusion of the pelvic bones beyond the body ever been seen or heard of. 



"This particular whale was a female humpback of the average length, with elementary legs 

 protruding from the body about 4 feet 2 inches, covered with blubber about % inch thick. 



"As shown in the best photograph, these legs protruded on either side of the genital opening; 

 the left leg was cut off by the crew of the vessel and lost, and the point at which it was cm off 

 is clearly shown in the photograph. The end of the leg seen in the picture terminated in a kind 

 of round knob like a man's clenched fist. 



"The two bones of the leg which you have are connected by cartilage, which I was Informed 

 had shrunk about 10 inches, and possibly more by this time. At any rate, the total length of the 



Then of the U.S. National Museum, now of the American Museum of Natural History. 



