SOWERBY'S WHALE 



the dates of certain of the captures. Thus Reinhardt ('80- '81) 

 and Van Beneden ('88) have inckided examples of Hyperoodon 

 in their lists of records; Gray ('66, p. 352) mentions a specimen 

 from Havre, Aug. 22, 1828, and Van Beneden ('88, p. 98) appar- 

 ently has quoted Gray in including this record in his paper on the 

 Ziphioids of European waters. It is clear, however, from the con- 

 text that Gray is referring to the specimen described by Dumortier 

 ('39) and taken at Ostend, Aug. 21, 1835. Of this' whale, Du- 

 mortier relates that it was kept alive out of water for the space of 

 two days but could not be prevailed upon to eat the moistened 

 bread that was offered it! Frequently it gave vent to loud bellow- 

 ings that resembled the lowing of a cow. Grieg ('98) is able to 

 confirm this testimony as to the possession of a voice by this species, 

 for he states that the female stranded at Karmo in 1 895, lowed like 

 a calf that is being slaughtered. 



It is clear, then, that Mesoplodon hidens is certainly known from 

 the North Atlantic only, between the latitudes of 39° N. (Adantic 

 City, N. J.) and about 60° N. (Shetland). That it is probably not 

 gregarious has been pointed out by previous writers, and its pres- 

 ence in the colder months at the northern part of its known range 

 has been taken to indicate that it is not migratory, at least in so 

 clear a manner as is the bottle-nosed whale {Hyperoodon ampidla- 

 tum). The fact that so large a proportion of the stranded speci- 

 mens has been taken on the coasts of islands is indicative of the 

 pelagic habitat of this species as contrasterl with certain of the 

 porpoises that often frequent the shallower waters along the coasts. 



