. Fig. 100. Outline sketch o[ Euphausia superba (x if approx.). Off the South African coast the little food in the stomachs was found to include Euphaiisia recurva, E. lucens and Nyctiphanes africanus, species which grow to a length of less than i in. Doubtless all species of Euphausian occurring in the locality are consumed without discrimination. One or two Humpbacks and one of the Fin whales examined at Saldanha Bay had fish in their stomachs. Sperm whales were feeding on cuttlefish, some of which appeared to have been of considerable size. The question of the migrations of whales has not y
. Fig. 100. Outline sketch o[ Euphausia superba (x if approx.). Off the South African coast the little food in the stomachs was found to include Euphaiisia recurva, E. lucens and Nyctiphanes africanus, species which grow to a length of less than i in. Doubtless all species of Euphausian occurring in the locality are consumed without discrimination. One or two Humpbacks and one of the Fin whales examined at Saldanha Bay had fish in their stomachs. Sperm whales were feeding on cuttlefish, some of which appeared to have been of considerable size. The question of the migrations of whales has not yet been referred to, but it may be mentioned here that there is a general movement northwards into warmer waters for breeding during the southern winter and southwards for feeding during the southern summer. Little food is available in the lower latitudes, but in certain parts of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters Eiiphausia superba flourishes in immense quantities. It is to be found in dense shoals usually in the neighbourhood of land, and thus the great feeding grounds of the southern whales are situated in such places as the vicinity of South Georgia and the other Dependencies. The enormous abundance of the krill round South Georgia is revealed by an examination of the stomach contents of the whales caught there. Normally the stomach was found to be well filled with compara- tively fresh Euphausiids and an empty stomach was at most times an uncommon occurrence. Plate XXXV, fig. i, illustrates a typical case of the appearance of the stomach after a slight opening in it had been made. The whales examined at Saldanha Bay showed a marked contrast. Here the stomach was normally found to be empty or to contain a ve>y small quantity of food and the K IV '4
Size: 4883px × 1024px
Photo credit: © The Bookworm Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectscientificexpedition
