On a monstrous foetus of Humpback Whale, Megaptera nodosa (Bonnaterre)

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  • 座頭鯨の一畸形胎兒に就いて

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Abstract

A very rare monstrous foetus without normal blow hole and narial passage was found out by the author on board the floating factory "Kyokuyo-Maru" during the Antarctic season 1938/39. The mother whale captured on January 6th, 1939, in the position of 61°39′ S. Lat. and 101°18′ E. Long. and measured 12.4m. long showed no morphological malformation. The tip of the snout of the foetus was bifurcated owing to the strong incurvation of the premaxilla and maxilla and there, I have found the structure which seemed to be homologous with the normal blow hole and the entrance of the narial passage, as shown in the preceding figures. The central and lateral narial folds situated between the tips of the snouts correspond to Schulte's (1916) caudal and rostral folds, respectively. The narial and respiratory passages have been changed to the two parallel shallow grooves formed by the abnormally elongated palate, starting from the two slits surrounded by the folds above-mentioned and terminating at the larynx. Thus, the foetus was found to lack both blow hole and narial passage in the normal position and structure.

Journal

  • 動物学雑誌

    動物学雑誌 52 (6), 247-252, 1940-06-15

    東京動物學會

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