CO885-(23-24) — Page 204

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C.O. 885

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APPENDICES.

"But many individuals have the head black, while the belly and the hinder part of the body is irregularly marked with black and white, with ring-like spots and marblings. "The colour of the flipper varies similarly; Often the colours sometimes it is black above, sometimes mottled below.

are unequally distributed on the two sides of the body." Winge (Danmarks Pattedyr, p. 216) gives a similar description; he says: -

"The colour over the most of the body black; the fore-part of the lower upper and surface white or white spotted; the flippers white both on the undersides, with larger or smaller black spots or markings." Cocks and Haldane have described European examples in which the upper surfaces of the flippers were black throughout; such cases are, however, unusual in the north. As is evident from Major Barrett-Hamilton's notes the flippers are normally bi-coloured at South Georgia, and this seems to be the case also in the South African herds. The occurrence of a few humpbacks with bi-coloured flippers in northern waters, and of a few with wholly white flippers in the southern ocean, may be the result of an interchange between the northern and southern herds in equatorial waters. Such occurrences may, however, be nothing more than indi- vidual variations.

BALEEN.

Three young humpbacks (males, Nos. 109, 256 ft.; 225, 25 ft.; female, No. 295, 27.5 ft.) had the baleen little developed; in Nos. 109 and 225 the length of the longest plate was no more than 6 or 7 in.; in No. 109 it was noted that little "hair

was present and that there were about 300 plates on each side. In the males Nos. 5 and 7 (36-7 ft. and 38 ft.) the length of the longest plate, including the "hair" (3 in. long in No. 7), was 1-9 ft. The longest plate measured in No. 9, female (38.5 ft.), "2 ft. by 9 in., plus 'hair' 3 to 4 in."; in No. 13, female (47 ft.), 22 ft., or 29 ft. with "hair," by 11 in.; in No. 14, female (49-75 ft.), 35 ft., or 3.8 ft. with In this last whale there "hair," by 12 in.; in Ño. 260, female (48 ft.), 2 ft. 3 in. were about 250 plates and 11 anterior bristles on each side; the anterior bristles measured from 3 to 7 in. in length, and of them the tenth from the front was plate- like in form. A male (No. 31, 403 ft.) had a few isolated white plates, the "hair" throughout being very whitish. A young female (No. 9, 38·5 ft.) had the "hair" thin and grey.

HAIRS AND TUBERCLES.

Major Barrett-Hamilton made sketches and notes of the haired-tubercles in a female (No. 251, 45 ft.). On the dorsal surface of the snout the blowhole ridges were continued forwards as a short median crest, in front of which a row of four haired-tubercles extended forwards to a point a little behind the upper lip. From the postero-lateral end of each blowhole ridge a row of about eight tubercles passed forwards on each side, converging anteriorly. On either side near the lateral border of the snout there were about 16 haired-tubercles arranged in two irregular rows. Thus on the upper surface of the snout there were about 52 haired-tubercles in all, arranged in seven rows. The symphysial surface of the mandible had a large double keel-like projection, or cut-water," extending forwards from the anterior termina- tion of the throat-pleats more than half-way to the tip of the jaw; on either side of this keel there were 10 or 12 haired-tubercles arranged in three irregular rows, the latter being parallel with the outer margins of the jaw. In front of the keel and between the rows of tubercles the.chin was furnished with a beard of "about six rows of hairs arranged in a formation broader than long." The symphysial keel is also mentioned by Major Barrett-Hamilton in his notes of the females Nos. 13 and In No. 13 there was a beard of about 30 hairs "on the 14 and of the male No. 27. lower snout." In No. 52, female (38.25 ft.), there were about 20 hairs on the symphysis "in two groups, one on each side of the central line; a few also on the tip of the snout." The tubercle hairs were not counted.

THROAT-PLEATS.

In the female No. 251 there were about 20 throat-pleats, counted at their anterior ends, including "one at the angle of the jaw," one which sent four branches forward to terminate on the posterior portion of the mandible, and a broad triangu- lar groove under the eye and between the gape and the pectoral. This last fold sent two pleats backwards above the insertion of the pectoral, but these posterior

APPENDICES.

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branches were not counted in the total of 20. In the female No. 260 there were about 54 pleats in all, including a short one extending forwards from above the pectoral towards the eye, three short pleats between the pectoral and the gape, and six on the mandible on each side; the remaining 34 pleats were below the mandible. In No. 28, female (34-6 ft.), there were about 24 throat-pleats; in No. 49, male (35 ft.), about 28; and in No. 53, male (49.5 ft.), about 30. The greatest width of a pleat in the last whale is given as about 7 in. More or less of a pink tinge was observed in the grooves of the throat-pleats of a male, No. 182, and of a female, No. 13; in No. 217 beautiful violet colour" was noted as occurring between the throat-pleats: these appearances are not unlikely the results of post-mortem change.

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FLIPPER FORM.

In No. 27, male (42 ft.), there were about 10 tubercles on each side of the flipper. In No. 28, female (34.6 ft.), the anterior tubercles were little developed, but there were 10 or 11 along the posterior border. In No. 126, female (48 ft.), the flipper had about nine anterior tubercles, but no prominent posterior ones; in general shape it "curved somewhat like that of the blue whale."

EYE AND EAR.

In No. 52, female (3825 ft.), the eye was noted as being just behind gape (in No. 59 it is stated that the "jaw rises up in a lump of blubber before the eye, hence" the latter "is behind not over the gape"); the eye was in the centre of a short fold 8 in. long; the eye and its fold lay between an upper and a lower fold each 9 in. long. The eye-slit measured 3 in. in antero-posterior diameter, and the pupil was oval antero-posteriorly. The external aperture of the ear was situated about 2 ft. behind the eye, i.e., about half-way between the latter and the pectoral, in the same plane as the eye but 1 ft. 3 in. dorsad of the plane of the pectoral.

The aperture was too small to permit of the insertion of the little finger. On removal of the blubber the meatus was seen in the midst of a sub-circular mass of gristle, 4 in. by 3 in. in longitudinal and vertical diameters, but its bore was still barely large enough for the insertion of the little finger. Similar observations were made upon Nos. 7, 18, and 59.

PALATE AND TONGUE.

In the notes relating to Nos. 7 and 13 the palate is described as pink or flesh- coloured, speckled with black; posteriorly black or dusky, in No. 53 it is described as very flat in front; and attention is called to the soft longitudinal lateral fold present on each side. The tongue of No. 7 is noted as "soft, black, and reticulated.”

BLUBBER.

The blubber of No. 13, female (47 ft., pregnant), was thick and yellowish that of No. 223, female (52 ft., pregnant), was upwards of 8 in. thick; that of a male, No. 53 (49-5 ft.), was 6 or 7 in. thick.

FOOD.

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The contents of the stomach or intestines were examined in 14 of the hump- backs, In two very young males, Nos. 109 and 225 (25-6 ft. and 25 ft.), the intes tines contained a yellow substance which may have been milk, but which certainly was not "kril"; in No. 109 the stomach was empty, but the animal was starved," and the navel was "exuding a yellow stuff like excrement"; the stomach of No. 225 was not seen. No. 194, a young male (28 ft.), had fed on "kril," and "kril" was ascertained to have been the food of Nos. 179, male, 54, 94, 126, 136, 210, 211, 223, 251, and 276, females. No. 7, male (38 ft.), had fed on "shrimps."

PARASITES.

Parasites of the three kinds usually present on northern humpbacks were generally present (Conchoderma, Coronula, and Cyamus); even the very young male No. 109 (25-6 ft.) was already infested with them. In No. 7 it was noted that white rings show position of old parasites," and that the "superficial layer of the skin peels off."