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 20th, 1883.
The whalebone or baleen was fortunately preserved with
the skeleton. The outer edge and greater part of each blade
is black; but 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 fringe. 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
North Atlantic, viz., B. sibbaldii, 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 our 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.