MAMMALS parts of our coasts. If there may be room for doubt concerning the identification of many of the specimens, there can be none with reference to that captured at Burn ham on February 12, 1901, as this was examined and fully described by Mr. Walter Crouch (Essex Nat. v. 124). 2. Rudolphi's Rorqual. Balanopttra borealis, Lesson. Bell Baltenoptera laticepi. This whale, said to be rare on the British coasts, has been four times captured in Essex water within the last few years. The first record of this whale as an Essex species is by Dr. J. E. Gray (Proc. Zoo/. Sac. 1864, p. 218), who mentions one being found in Hope Reach, in the Thames near Gravesend, in the year 1859. The second was stranded and killed near Cricksea, in the river Crouch, on Novem- ber 8, 1883. It was identified by Professor Flower and described by him (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1883, p. 514). The third was found dead at Tilbury, and was identified, drawn and described by Mr. Walter Crouch (Essex Nat. ii. 41). The fourth was captured in the Medway, and having passed through the Thames estuary must have been in Essex waters. This also was identified and de- scribed by Mr. Walter Crouch in the Rochester Naturalist for 1888, where a figure and measurements are given. 3. Lesser Rorqual. Baltenoptera rostrata, Fabricius (Baltenoptera acuto-rostra, Lacep.). This is one of the best marked and most easily distinguished species of the family, and at the same time one of the most common on our coasts. It has occurred in the Thames several times. One is recorded and figured (Zoologist, 1843, p. 33), and is now preserved in the British Museum. Mr. E. A. Fitch records (Zoologist, Nov. 15, 1900) the capture of a small female in Mayland Creek. 4. Sperm Whale. Physeter macrocephalus, Linn. This tropical whale has occasionally wandered to the shores of our island. A live one ran ashore in the Thames in 1788 (Bell's Brit. Quad. ed. 2, p. 417). Dale (Hist, of Harwich, ed. 2, 1732, p. 413) mentions one caught in the Thames. An original manuscript letter from Wal- berswick, Suffolk, dated March 7, 1788, pre- served in the British Museum copy of the volume of the Philosophical Transactions for 1787, records the appearance of twelve sperm whales after a hard gale of northerly winds in February, 1763. Two of these were driven ashore dead on the coast of Essex the writer does not say at what point. He cut up however more than one of the twelve, and gives the dimensions of some of the animals. 5. Bottle-Nose or Common Beaked Whale. Hyperoodon rostratus, Chemnitz. A well-known and easily distinguished species. There are several records of its cap- ture on the Essex coasts. Hunter records one captured in the Thames in 1783, above London Bridge (Bell's Brit. Quad. ed. 2, p. 423). Dale (Hiit. of Harwich, ed. 2, p. 412) mentions one captured in the Black- water, and in July, 1891, two males occurred in the Thames (Essex Nat. v. 170). 6. Grampus. Orca gladiator, Lacepcde. Hunter records the capture of three speci- mens in the Thames towards the end of the eighteenth century (see Bell's Brit. Quad. ed. 2, p. 446). There is in the British Museum the skull of one taken on the Essex coast (Zoologist, 1873, P- 34 2 9)> ant ^ Dale (Hist, of Harwich, p. 412) mentions another specimen. 7. Risso's Grampus. Grampus griseus, Cuvier. One of this species was found stranded in the Crouch about September 5, 1885, just above the spot where Rudolphi's rorqual, previously mentioned, was stranded. The remains of the skull and lower jaw were deposited in the British Museum, and Pro- fessor Flower, after examining them, con- firmed the identification (see Zoologist, 1888, p. 260). 8. Porpoise. Phoctena communis, Cuvier. Very common on the coasts and often seen in the rivers. 9. Bottle-Nosed Dolphin. Tursiops tursio, Fabricius. Bell Delphlnus tursio. Generally considered rare, but it is not so on the Essex coasts, where it may often be seen. There are records of many captures (Zoologist, 1882, pp. 147-351). 10. White-beaked Dolphin. Delphinus albi- rostris, J. E. Gray. On September n, 1889, a school of nine specimens of this rare cetacean visited the Colne ; five of them were captured (see Zoologist, 1889, p. 382). 259
