14 
Proceedings of the Koyal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
the greatest breadth, a character which I have elsewhere noted as to 
be recognised in B. rostrata* 
Foetus. 
Mr Coughtrey had fortunately secured the foetus of a Minka Whale 
which he had removed from the mother, shot during the late whaling 
season. The length of the latter was not measured, though it had possibly 
been about 16 feet.f The fcDetus was preserved in spirit and soldered 
up in a tin. It arrived in good order, and the cuticle was almost intact. 
From its length along the curve of the back, 64 cm. (2 ft. 1 in.), 
in relation to the size of the mother it was evidently well grown. The 
maximum girth was at the head, behind which the body diminished in 
girth to the constricted region in front of the tail. The principal dimensions 
are given in the Table : — 
From 
Dimensions of Fcetus. 
tip of beak along dorsal curve to mid notch of tail 
Inches. 
25 
Centimetres. 
64 
same to axilla ....... 
7 
18 
?5 
„ to eyeball ....... 
4 
10 
55 
,, to front of blowholes ..... 
2*9 
7*5 
55 
„ to angle of mouth 
4-3 
11 
55 
„ to anterior border of dorsal fin . 
17*3 
44 
5 ^ 
„ to flange of tail ...... 
22-8 
58 
„ to attachment of pectoral limb . 
7 
18 
55 
tip of mandible to umbilicus .... 
11-8 
30 
51 
umbilicus to genital orifice .... 
3*5 
9*2 
55 
„ to anus ...... 
4-3 
11 
Girth 
around summit of head ..... 
13-7 
35 
55 
in front of pectoral limb ..... 
12-8 
32*5 
55 
at umbilicus ....... 
11*4 
29 
55 
in front of dorsal fin 
8-2 
21 
55 
at root of tail . . . . . . 
2-7 
7 
The summit of the Head had a low boss-like prominence, in front of 
which the dorsum sloped downwards and forwards to the tip of the beak, 
also outwards to each lateral border, which formed a straight line from the 
base of the beak to its pointed tip. Immediately in front of the promin- 
ence, but on a lower plane, two narrow slit-like Blowholes, 1*5 cm. long, 
were situated ; they were separated by a shallow median furrow and 
converged at their anterior ends, but did not communicate with each other. 
On the dorsum of the Beak a distinct median ridge was present which 
subsided near the tip. On each side of the ridge the surface was flattened 
and directed outwards to the straight lateral border of the beak. In 
* Marine Mammals in the Anatomical Museum^ University of Edinburgh, p. 18, 1912. 
t Well-grown specimens of B. rostrata from 134 feet and upwards have been recorded. 
I described an adult female 28 feet 4 inches, the articulated skeleton of which is in the 
Anatomical Museum of the University. See Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xix., 1892. 
