eyes were situated near the angle of the mouth; they were 2½ inches long and wide in proportion, and at each corner of the eye was a groove half an inch in length. The upper jaw was 32 inches long, and the lower one, measured along the curve, 35 inches; the upper jaw was 24 inches wide, and the whalebone 5½ inches deep on the outer side, and 8 inches deep on the inner or deepest part: from the tip of the snout to the posterior extremity of the blowers was 39 inches; thence, measured along the back to a level with the anterior part of the pectoral fin 19 inches; thence to the anterior part of the dorsal fin 58 inches; and thence to the middle of the tail 60 inches, making the entire length 14 feet 8 inches; the body, measured across over the back from one pectoral fin to the other, was 40 inches; the width of each pectoral fin at its base, 11 inches; its length along the anterior edge, 24 inches, along the posterior edge 17 inches; the hinder part of the body near the tail was compressed and sharp-edged above, it was 10½ inches in depth. The tail was 46 inches in width, and the anterior edge of each division 25 inches long. The dorsal fin was cut off during the night after the capture of the animal. The specimen, after passing through several hands, was purchased by the British Museum.[1]
This whale appears to have been a young specimen of the Balaena Boops of Linneus, the Balænoptera Boops of Fleming, Cuvier, Bell and others; it is identical with the Balænoptera Rorqual and B. gibbar of Lacepède, and with the Balæna rostrata, as published in the 'Philosophical Transactions' for 1787, p. 373, pi. xx: but Mr. Gray remarks that in the Deptford specimen the front of the flapper and the front of the dorsal fin was each one third from the ends of the body; while in Mr. Hunter's figure the middle space of the body between the members is much longer than the distances between them and the ends of the body; still, if the admeasurements be taken from the description there is no discrepancy in the relative proportions of the two. Both Mr. Hunter's and the Deptford specimens were females. It is far from uncommon, and is well known among fishermen and mariners generally by the names of finner, fin-back, fin-fish and gibbar.
These finners have continually made their appearance on our coast, and not unfrequently been stranded and captured, but they are not
- ↑ After the drawing at the head of this note had been prepared, Mr. Showell, of Park Lodge, New Cross, most kindly brought to the editor a highly finished sketch of the whale, made by Mr. Bate.
