74 Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 
(2) Balaenoptera physalus L., the Eorqual of the French, Eohrval of the 
Norwegian, Finner or Common Fm Whale of the English. This species does 
not reach the size of the Blue Whale. It measures from 40 to 70 ft., rarely 
•exceeding this figure. It is abundant throughout the more northern seas 
of Europe and appears to be so in the southern seas or Antarctic. 
(3) Balaenoptera horealis Less., the Fin-Whale or Herring- Whale, also 
Eudolphi's Whale, Sijhval or Seihwal of the Norwegian, Northern Rorqual 
of the French. 
Its greatest length appears to be 45 to 50 ft. The animal was considered 
as rare in the Northern Hemisphere. It occurs also round the South 
Shetland and South Orkneys, and Amundsen met with a great number 
near the ice barrier. It is, therefore, the Whale that reaches furthest south. 
(4) Balaenoptera brydei 01s. This species is very closely allied in general 
appearance to B. horealis, but the differences pointed out by Mr. Olsen 
have to a certain extent been verified by me or tally with information 
obtained from other quarters. It may be said to be more essentially 
ichthyophagous along our coast than even B. horealis ; this seems to be 
borne out by the consistency of the fringe of the baleen, which is much 
coarser than that of B. horealis, itself an ichthyophagous species like 
B. physalus and B. musculus, none of these "finners" being planctono- 
phagous, except perhaps occasionally. In fact the identity of the animal 
as differing from B. horealis was caused through a court-case about the 
fineness of this fringe which had been sold as that of the Seihval, the 
Norwegian name for B. horealis. The asymmetry of skeletons of Cetacea 
is extremely great — not so great, however, as to allow of such disparity of 
form of the breast-bone between B. horealis and B. hrydei, as shown in the 
illustration, which is, I believe, noted here for the first time. 
This Bryde's Whale frequents our coast for a much longer period than 
any of the others. Its partiality for a fish diet may induce it to remain 
here for, it may be, the whole year. It has not been noted in the Antarctic, 
nor, do I believe, has it been met near the Equator. 
(5) Balaenoptera acuto-rostrata, Lesser Fin-Whale, or Pike- Whale of the 
English, and Minkehval of the Norwegian. The identity of the species of 
this name occurring in the northern waters of Europe and America with 
that of the animal found south as far as lat. 70 S. is still doubtful. Liou- 
ville (Charcot's Expedition) has not met with it. Eacovitza (Belgica 
Expedition) has seen it twice, but has not noticed the white band on the 
pectoral fin — a most noticeable feature of the species. Kristensen and 
King (Antarctic Expedition) have seen one and captured another, but 
neither mentions the very striking band of the pectoral fin. In this case 
the stomach of the captured example was full of red shrimps {Euphausia). 
B. acuto-rostrata is eminently ichthyophagous. Lillie (Terra Nova Expedi- 
tion) says, on the other hand : " When sailing in Antarctic waters to the 
