Observations upon a fin-whale (Physalus antiquorum, Gray) recently stranded in Pevensey Bay / by William Henry Flower.

  • Flower, William Henry, 1831-1899.
Date:
[1865]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations upon a fin-whale (Physalus antiquorum, Gray) recently stranded in Pevensey Bay / by William Henry Flower. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ring. These were evidently hair-follicles, from which the hairs had fallen out in consequence of the decomposition of the body; fortu- nately one hair still remained in situ ; it was white, straight and stiff, about ^ inch long. It was so loosely attached that by the time I had brought home the piece of skin (now a preparation in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons) it was no longer to be seen. Whether any similar follicles existed on the outside of the upper lip I cannot say, as it was nearly buried in the shingle*; the same reason prevented me getting a view of the blowholes. The part of the skin in which the external auditory meatus should have been situated on the side turned uppermost was, unfortunately, completely destroyed by one or more of the before-mentioned causes. As to the colour, the remaining patches of cuticle on the upper surface of the body and the outer side of the pectoral fin were of a blue black; those on the whole under surface, from the chin to the tail, including the under surface of the fin, were white. A consider- able portion of the large under lip was black. The cuticle remained attached to the bottom and sides of the furrows on the throat and abdomen, and, being in the greater part black, gave a very conspicu- ous appearance to the furrows when opened out, contrasting strongly with the white raised intervals. For a space of about 3 feet on each side of the middle line, on the throat, chest, and anterior half of the abdomen, the bottom and sides of the furrows were pink ; on both sides of this and all across the posterior part of the furrows they were Idack. The demarcation between the two colours was very distinct; but where the pink epidermis approached the black, it was spotted or mottled with the latter colour. A part to which the attention is sure to be soon directed in ex- amining a Whalebone-Whale is the roof of the mouth ; but the structure and mode of growth of the baleen have been so fully de- scribed by Hunter, Ravin, Rosenthal, and, finally, Eschricht and Reinhardt, that few further observations are necessary. The central portion of the palate, covered by a pale-coloured mucous membrane, formed a high angular ridge, like the roof of a house, posteriorly; but this gradually subsided anteriorly, until it became quite flat and very narrow (not more than 6 inches across). It expanded again in front to a width of 8 inches, and terminated by an almost abruptly truncated end. Around this the two sets of baleen met each other in the middle line, separating the palate by an interval of 1| inch from the front of the hard and tense upper lipt- The distance from the i'ront edge of the conjoined sets of baleen to the tip of the snout was 5 inches. The space was mostly covered by a rayed indentation, looking very like an old cicatrix ; but as it was situated exactly in the middle line and tolerably symmetrical, it was probably natural. The chief baleen blades were 23 inches long on their outer, somc- * III Schle^rpl's figure above referred to, liairs are represented on the ends of both upper and under jaws. f- Tbe two sets of baleen appear to meet in the middle line in front in all t'ru^ Kor(|iials; but in tlic Greenland Right Whale {Balcena mysticehm) they are, ac- cording to Eschricht and Reinhardt, separated by a considerable interval. [4]