balana

[Lat. balana; Ital. balena; Port. baléa, boleia; Sp. ballena; Fr. baleine; Gr. φάλλαινα ( phallaina ), φάλαινα (1 halaina ), φάλλη ( phalle ), φάλη ( phale ); O. H. Ger. wal; Mod. Ger. wallfisch; Dut. walvisch; Dan. hvalfisk; Sw. hval; Icel. hvalr; A.S. hwæl; Eng. whale (q.v.).] IMG:content-1003.png:[graphic][merged small] 414 Fin-backed Whales. A genus of Balænidæ, characterised by the po e ion of a soft dorsal fin, and by the shortne of the plates of baleen. Balænoptera Boops , the Northern Rorqual, or Fin-fish, called by sailors the Finner, is not rare in the British seas. It is the largest of known animals, sometimes reaching 100 feet in length. A somewhat smaller species, B. musculus , inhabits the Mediterranean.