view — the right side— was greatly injured, and the injury more 
than likely preceded, and may have caused the stranding. The eye was 
situated just above the angle between the upper and the lower jaws. 
The blow-hole was 4 feet from the anterior end of the head. The 
whalebone on the exposed side had already been almost completely 
cut away. 
The longitudinal folds on the underside of the throat commenced 
just behind the gape, where they measured 9 inches, and now 
gradually now rapidly increased in length, reaching a maximum of 
about 10 feet in the mid ventral line. The colour was greyish 
black above, passing mtu unite below. A band of the dorsal colour 
passed round the body just m front of the tail. The upper side of 
the tail was of the same colour as the back, but beneath it was white, 
with varying patches of a light slaty colour. 1 had no chance of 
seeing whether the characteristic white band of the pectoral fin was 
present or not. The mid ventral line of the body between the anal 
opening and the tail was produced into a keel-like edge. 
W’liat was remarkable about the specimen was the fact, that the 
mouth was distended by what certainly appeared to be the everted 
stomach. On reflection, this apparently impossible feat in a 
mammal, led me to write to certain authorities on the Cetacea, hut 
they could give me no information on the point. The only other 
record of a similar occurrence, of which I know, is that by (jiioy 
and Gaimard in the case of the Great Northern Rorqual. Two 
days after this whale was killed, the mouth became distended 
by a ‘bladder’ which prevented the closing of the jaws. Dr. 
Hamilton explained the formation of this ‘bladder’ as being 
due to the accumulation of ‘-gas generated by decomposition, 
and collected in the loose cellular membrane of the lower jaw.” If 
this be the case it is certainly a remarkable effect of such a process, 
and in the case of the specimen of which 1 now write, it must have 
occurred very rapidly, for I saw it within a day of its death. And, 
in reply to an enquiry of mine, Mr. .1. \Y. Davis, of the Coast Guard 
at Cresswell, informed me that he saw this distension, and its cause 
on the day the whale went ashore. Mr. Davis also stated that the 
structure was still present when the head was removed, and was of 
the opinion that it was not the stomach. The stomach, however, 
was not seen, or if seen not recognised. I think at present, it must 
he left at that, but I am very sorry that circumstances prevented me 
from being present at the cutting up of the carcase. 
A. Meek. 
