Whale lately taken in the River Crouch. 113 
fifty-six in all. The upper end. of the first rib on both sides 
appeared deeply cleft in two, an appearance occasioned by 
the presence of a short cervical rib, firmly united to it, as in 
the case of nearly all the other skeletons of this species 
hitherto observed. Some further osteological details will be 
found in a notice of the specimen given in the ‘ Proceedings 
of the Zoological Society ’ for November 20tli, 1883. 
The whalebone or baleen was fortunately preserved with 
the skeleton. The outer edge and greater part of each blade 
is black; hut the inner edge and the hairy fringe is almost 
pure white, and at the posterior end of the series the colour 
of the entire blades gradually changes from black to almost 
pure white. The longest blades at the middle of the series 
are exactly twelve inches in length on the outer edge, to 
which almost an inch may be added for the hairy hinge. To 
count the blades accurately is a matter of great difficulty, as 
they gradually degenerate at the extremities of the series, 
especially in front, into little more than bristles ; but 300 on 
each side may be taken as a close approximation. 
Of the four species of Rorquals known to inhabit the 
Noith Atlantic, viz., B. sibbalclii, B. musculus , B. borealis , and 
B. rostrata (giving them in the order of size), B. borealis 
appears to be the least common, and the one of the captures 
of which there are the fewest recorded examples, especially 
on oui coasts. In the seas around Norway it is, however, 
said not to be infrequent. The following cases of the 
occurrence of stranded or captured individuals will supply 
all that is at present known of its geographical distri¬ 
bution :— 
Norwegian Coast. 
1. North Cape. Skeleton in the Brussels Museum. 
2. Loffoden Islands. Skeleton in the Bergen Museum, 
3. Near Bergen. Skeleton in the Bergen Museum, 
Holstein. 
4. Near Gromitz, in 1819. Skeleton in the Berlin 
Museum. Described by Rudolphi. 
Holland. 
5. Near Monniken Dam in the Zuider Zee, in 1811. 
Skeleton in the Leyden Museum. 
i 
