■ ''• a
They visìl the coast peiiodically. The head is often co vered
witli barnacles.
This species is only described from a model, made in
porcelain clay by a Japanese, u n d e r the inspection o f a
Japanese whaler and M. Siebold; b u t no remains o f the
ammal were brought to E u ro p e . The figures in the ‘F au n
a J a p ó n ic a ’ are from this model.
This is probably B. Jap ó n ica , Lacepède, Mem. Mus. iv.
473, from a Japanese drawing, which is white below.
Eaccpcde also notices another Jap a n ese drawing, in the
same place, under the name o í B . lunnlala.
Lesson (Tab. Reg . Anim. 202) gives th e name o f “ B.
antárctica to th e R ig h t or Black Whale o f the whalers of
the antarctic seas.”
The N e w Z e a l a n d W h a l e . Baltena antárctica.
Pla te 1.
B a le n a antárctica, Gray, D ieff. N ew Z ea la n d , t. 1.
1 descn b ed this species from a very accurate drawing of
a specimen taken in Jackson Bay : it is very like Tern-
minck’s figure o f B . a ustralis, b u t there is a roundish prominence
on th e front o f the u nder jaw similar lo, as well
as the one on the nose, figured in th a t species; the pectoral
fin is, as in th a t species, about 4 from the chin.
Chamisso figures a species o f these animals as Bala^na
Kuliomoch, found in the Aleutian seas, from a wooden
model made by the Aleutians ; see N. Act. Na t. Cur, t, 17,
f. 1. I t is noticed as B. Culammak by Pallas, Zool. Ross.
Asiat. i. 288.
** B a c k knobbed.
T h e S c ra g W h a l e . Balæna gibbosa.
Balæna gibbosa, Brisson.
Besides these Dudley (Phil. Trans, x x x iii 259) described
‘‘ a Scrag Wh a le," which he says “ is near akin lo the F in back,
b u t inste ad of a fin upon its back, the ridge o f the
after p a rt of its back is scragged, m th half-a-dozen knobs
or knuckles. H e is nearest the R ig h t W h a le in figure and
quantity of oil. H is bone (whalebone) is white, but wont
split.”
Cuvier thought th e Scrag Wh a le {B. gibbosa) was only a
Rorqual (Oss. Foss. v. 267) which h ad been mutilated, but
1 suspect, from Dudley’s account o f the form, th a t it must
be a B alæ na, probably well known foimerly.
Bonnaterre, and all succeeding authors, have referred lo
this genus, ihe Hump-hacked JF/m7eof D udley, not understanding
his description o f the belly “ being reeved,” that
is, plaited ; they call it B . nodosa.
2 . M e g a p t e r a . P I d m p -b a c k e d W h a l e s .
Balænoptera, p art, Lacep. B. nodosa, Bonat.
H e ad broad, moderate, flattened. Throa t and chest with
deep longitudinal folds. Dorsal fins low or tuberous ra th
e r behind tlie middle of th e body. The pectoral very
large, to 4 the entire length of the animal, as long as the
head, consisting o f only four fingers. T h e eyes rather
above the angle of th e mouth. T h e navel is rather
before the front edge, the male organs under the back
edge o f the dorsal, and the vent ra th e r nearer th e tail,
and the female organs are ra th e r behind the back edge
of the dorsal, with the vent a t its hinder end. Skull,
nose narrow, broad behind, and contra cted in front
Temporal bone broad. Interorbital space wide. Lower
jaw much arched,—Ciîî?. O s s . F o ss . v . t . 2 6 , / 1, 3.
These Whales are easily known from the Finue rs [Ba-
lænopiera), in being shorter and more robust, the skull
nearly 4 the entire length, the head wider between the
eyes, the mouth larger, the lip warty, and the nose large
and rounded ; the plaits of the belly and throat are broad ;
the dorsal is more forward, the pectoral larger and narrow,
from 4 to T the length of the body, and th e tail is wider,
and the lobes generally more pointed.
The skull o f this genus is intermediate in form between
that o f Balæna and Balænoptera.
This kind of W hale was noticed by Dudley (Phil. Trans.
“ the Bunch or Hump-backed
Whale has a bunch standing in the place where th e fin
does 111 the Fin -b ack ; this bunch is as big as a man’s head
and a foot high, shaped like a plug pointing backwards.
The bone (whalebone) is not worth much, tho’ somewhat
be tte r than the Fin-back. H is fin (pectoral) is sometimes
18 feet long, and very white. Both Fin-backs and H um p backs
are shaped in reeves (folds) longitudinally from head
to tail, on their belly and sides, as far as their fins, which
are about h a lf way up the sides.”
This description is the origin o f Balæna nodosa o f B onnaterre
and other authors. The French authors have evidently
n o t understood the word “ reeves,” and have therefore
arranged these with the smooth-bellied finless whales,
an d Bonnaterre translates the position of the fins on the
sides into “ presque au milieu du coijis.” Dudley, when
speaking o f the Spermaceti Whale, says “ he has a bunch
on his back like a PTiimp-back,” whibh explains what he
means by a bunch.
These Ilurap-backs are well known to the whalers, for
Beale says, “ The Hump-back Whale possesses, like the
Greenland Whale, the baleen, and spouts from the lop of
the head, yet has a hump not very dissimilar to th a t o f the
Sperm Whale.”
Schlegel considers Ba læ n a longimaua, the Rorqual du
Cap, and the drawing he received from Japan, as all b e longing
to a single species, though he owns there are differences
between them ; b u t then it is his custom to regard
all the species which they have not in th e Levden Museum
as the same as tliose they have, which has rendered his
works on the geographical distribution o f tortoises, snakes
and other animals, far less valuable than they would be if
it was n o t for this theory.
Cuvier (Oss. Foss. v. 367) thinks that th e Hump-back
Wha le was probably only a Wffiale o f another kind whose
fins had been injured, not recognizing in the Cape R orqual
the genus of W hale here noticed.
Olafsen speaks of a Whale under the name of H n u fu -
bakr (French translation, iii. 22), which is said to have a
smooth belly, and a horn instead o f a fin on the back ; but
the account o f the animals in this work is evidently only a
compilation, and this appears like an incorrect translation
or Dudley.
PoESKOP, o r C a p e H u m p - b a c e . M e g a p t e r a P o e s k o p .
Rorqual dn Cap, Cuv. Oss. Foss. v. t. 2 6 , / 1—4 and 19,
from Lalandc’s specimen.
Bal$iiopte ra Poeskop, Desmonlin, D id . Class. H . N .
¡ÍY-. 16», from Lalande’s MSS.
B. Lalandii, Fischer, S yn. 525, from Cuvier.
B. Caponsis, A. Sm ith , from Cuvier.
Inhab. Cape o f Good Hope, Lalande . Skeleton, Mus.
Paris.
Laland’s account was published by Desmoulin, who
merely gives the follow'ing particulars, exc ept w hat appears
to be common to the genus. H e says “ it has a bosse on
the occiput, and its dorsal is nearly over th e pectoral,” in
the European and Bermudean figures it is over the end of
these fins.
Cuvier’s figures o f the adult skull differ from Rudolphi’s
figure o f M. longimana, iu th e interraaxillaries being n a rrower
and contracted in front o f the blowers, and then
rather widened again and linear, and the temporal bone is
broader and more triangular; which make.s me believe it is
a distinc t species.
.Jo h n s t o n ’s H u m p -b a c k e d W h a l e . Megaptera longimana.
Balama longimana, Rudolphi, Mem. Acad. B e rl. 1829,
133, t. 12, mas, cop. B ra n d t a n d Ratzeburg, t. 1 5 , / 2.
Whale, Johnston, Trans. Newcastle N . H. Soc. i. 6, t.
1, female on back.
Black, pectoral fin and beneath white, black v a rie d ;
lower lip with 2 series o f tuberc les; pectoral nearly 4 the
entire length ; dorsal elongate, th e front edge over end of
p e c to ra l; throat and belly grooved.
Female, u pper and lower lip with a series of tubercles ;
dorsal an obscure protuberance.—Johnston, I. c. t. 1.
Inhab. North Sea, mouth of theMae se, Rudolphi. Newcastle,
Johnston.
Dr. Johnston’s description chiefly differs from Rudolphi’s
in both lips having a row of tubercles, and in the
dorsal being said to be a small obscure protuberance ; but
the animal laid on its back, sunk in the sand.
Rudolphi [Berl. Abliavd. 1829, #. 1, 4) fi gures the bones
o f this species, with enlarged details o f the skull. They
nearly resemble the skull of the Capo Rorqual of Cuvier
in form, b u t the nasal bones are broad and nearly o f the
same width from the front of the blow-holes to near the
tip, where they gradually taper : the temporal appear more
quadrangular.
Schlegel points out th a t Rudolphi, in his description of
B . longimana, has confounded the figure of Baleine du
Cap and Rorqual d u Cap, o f Cuvier’s ‘ Ossemens Fos-
siles,’ to g e th e r; and th a t M. F. Cuvier has done th e same
thing, [Faun. Japon. 21, note).
Professor E scb rich t, according to M. Schlegel, has found
this species not uncommon on the shores of Greenland.—
Fauna Japónica, 24.
Rudolphi, and after him Schlegel, refers B . Boops, O.
Fabricius, to this genus, b u t th e description does not bear
them out. They must have overlooked the character furnished
by tbe position of the sexual organs.
Schlegel refers th e Rorqualus minor of Knox to this
probably misled by the inaccurate figures o f this
species in Ja rd in e ’s Nat. Lib. vi. t. 6 . See note on this
figure under Balmnoptera Physalus.
B e r m u d a H u m p - b a c k . Megaptera Americana.
I have a tracing of a B e rm u Ja Wh a le, b u t do n ofknow
from whence it was derived, which is said to be common
in th a t island. I t is very like llic figure o f Megaptera
longimana, but the dorsal fin is represented as lower, and
the tail wider. This is doubtless the Wha le described in
Phil. Trans, i. 11, where an ac count is given o f the method
of taking it. I t is described thus : — “ Length of adult 88
fe e t; the pectoral 26 feet (rather less than 4 entire
length), and th e tail 23 feet broad. There are great
bends (plaits) underneath from nose to the navel, sharp,
like tbe ridge o f a house behind, head pre tty blulfi full of
bumps on both sides, back black, belly white, and dorsal
fin behind.”
The K u z i r a . Megaptera antárctica.
Baluenoptera antárctica, Tern. Faun. Ja p . i. 30,
Rorqual Noueux, Voy. Pol S u d , t. 24, fern, not descr.
Inhab. Jap a n and the Antarctic Seas.
Both these figures agree in having th e dorsal smaller,
and behind the middle o f the back, and in having the p ectoral
fin rather shorter, in Temminck’s less than 4> &'id in
the other about 4 the entire length o f the body. T h e J a pan
specimen has round warts on the nose and side o f the
throat, and the belly is plaited. The Antarctic one, 011
th e contrary, has only warts on the u pper p art of the head,
and the throat smooth, b u t th e latter may be occasioned
by its being rather more dilated. They grow to 60 feet
long.
Th e figure in the ‘ Fauna Jap ó n ica ’ is from a drawing
bro u g h t home by M. Siebold, not accompanied by remains.
M. Siebold observes th a t the Japanese distinguish three
varie tie s: —
1. Sato K u z ira . Black, nose more elongate and rounded,
and the pectoral long, the belly and lower face o f the p ectoral
are gray, with white rays.
2. N agasu Kuzira. Paler, nose more pointed, the belly
has 10 plaits. In both, the lower jaw is larger than tlie
upper.
3. Noso K u zira . Distinguished from the first because
the back and fins are white-spotted.—Fatm. Jap. 24.
Forster, in Cook’s Voyage, appears to have met with a
species of this genus between Terra del Fuego and Straiten
Island. H e says, “ these huge animals lay on their backs,
and with their long pectoral fins bea t the surface o f the sea,
which caused a great noise, equal lo the explosion o f a
swivel.”
Lesson (Tab. Reg. Anim .202) gives the name of B . leu-
copteron lo “ the Hump-back o f the whalers in the high
southern latitudes.”
Chamisso figures a species o f this genus from the Aleutian
seas, under the name o f Aliomoch (N. Acta Nat. Cur.
xii. 258, t. 18, f. 5), from a wooden model made by the
Aleutians : and Pallas (Zool. Ross. Asiat.) calls it B a la n a
Allamack. The pectoral fins are long ; they, and the un derside
of the tail are white.
This genus is also found in the seas o f Java, for there is
an imperfect skull, brought from that country by Professor
Reinwardt, in the Leyden Museum;-^E. Japon. 24.