. 1 me ba AS Peet eA Th es “
RS n NUNN DC Oe! RAE {baits
+ vhs PRY Lats Lien ee
‘ Hep REED URS TAN
: t+ ie | +

{heap a
: " ‘ Ler
x wh
»\ my he .
: $ \
Cita <p
mY ‘
* Ysa Wy
AN aN}!
Vel
Ay
\
hale
a
t e
\ & ‘ eae
’ .
|
| ‘
. >
|
: . Z
| i
3

ALBERT BR. Mua vsuN
LIBRARY
AT
CORNELL UNIVERSITY

|
WD. ae Vet A TAP) beat ai? BP NT) Gh) He UP Ie ll oi

DATE DUE

GAYLORD

ammatia, recent and exting®; “7,

Jementa

TNT

Cornell University

Library

The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002881021

MAMMALIA,

RECENT AND EXTINCT;

AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE FOR THE USE OF THE
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

BY

A. W. SCOTT, M.A.

SYDNEY: THOMAS RICHARDS, GOVERNMENT PRINTER.

1873.

“Ay

SECTION B.

PINNATA.

SEALS, DUGONGS, WHALES,
&e., &e., &C.

PREFACE.

THE following pages, briefly descriptive of the economy of
Seals, Dugongs, and Whales, and of their principal fossil
allies, form the 2nd Part, or Section B, of an “ Elementary
Treatise on the Mammalia,” designed for the use of the
more advanced pupils in the Public Schools of this Country
under the direction of the Council of Education.

In issuing this portion of the work in question before
the 1st Part or Section A, I feel that I have travelled out of
the order of arrangement, as specified in the proposed
synopsis of the Mammalian group in page 2 ; some remarks,
therefore, by way of explanation for leaving the “ ungui-
culata” to be hereafter dealt with, become necessary.

Whatever information we possess upon the natural
history of the finned mammals, particularly in a popular,
yet scientific form, has been so scantily and unequally dis-
tributed, that in this direction a comparatively new field
may be said to be open to the teacher as well as to the
youthful inquirer.

Influenced, also, by the great commercial value of several
species of the pinnata, I have felt anxiously desirous to
direct without further delay the attention, and thus possibly
secure the sympathy, of readers, other than students, to the
necessity of prompt legislative interference, in order to
protect the oil and fur producing animals of our hemi-

é

v1 PREFACE,

sphere, or at least some of them, against the wanton and
unseasonable acts committed by unrestrained traders ; and
thus not only to prevent the inevitable extermination of
this valuable group, but to utilize their eminently beneficial
qualities into a methodical and profitable industry.

Keeping steadily in view these two objects, whose impor-
tance, I trust, will bear me out in deviating from my original
intention in the order of the issue of publication, I have
endeavoured—firstly ; to interest the youthful mind with
selections of well authenticated anecdotes of the general
habits of these peculiar animals, accompanied, however, by
those drier details of structural characters, essentially
requisite to assist the more advanced and thoughtful
student to a better understanding of the generic distinc-
tions, and to aid him as a work of reference, or descriptive
catalogue, should he be disposed in after-lfe to prose-
cute his researches in this difficult and imperfectly under-
stood branch of Zoology, and—secondly; by devoting
as much space as my limits would permit to the considera-
tion of the animals whose products are of such commer-
cial value to man, and whose extinction would so seriously
affect his interests, to point out the pressing necessity that
exists for devising the means of protection for the Fur Seals
and the Sperm and Right Whales of the Southern Ocean.

To evidence what great results may be effected by con-
siderate forethought, I refer the reader to pages 8 to 13 of
this treatise, where he will see that, under the fostering care
of the United States Government, the Northern Fur Seals
of commerce, which but a few years ago were nearly

PREFACE. Vil

extinct, have already, by their rapid increase and mild dis-
position, developed themselves into a permanent source of
national wealth.

The islands of the Southern Seas, now lying barren and
waste, are not only numerous, but admirably suited for the
production and management of these valuable animals,
and need only the simple regulations enforced by the
American Legislature to resuscitate the present state of decay
of a once remunerative trade, and to bring into full vigour
another important export to the many we already possess.

I have cordially to thank the many friends, some residing
at a considerable distance from Sydney, who, from time
to time, and at much inconvenience, have either supplied
me liberally with the loan of numerous scientific works for
reference, or freely offered valuable information, acquired by
personal experience, of the habits of some of the Southern
animals of this section; as well as others to whom I am
indebted for their considerate advice and material assistance
during the progress of the compilation of this treatise.

In the present incomplete state, arising from the issue of
one part only of the proposed publication, and which first
portion, indeed, must be deemed as only on trial as a preli-
minary effort, I think it but right to withhold the names of
the gentlemen alluded to, until the work in a more advanced
stage has undergone the ordeal of public opinion—a course
of procedure, I feel, greatly more to their advantage than
to mine, whether that opinion be favourable or otherwise.

Sydney, 21 July, 1873.

TABLE OF

KINGDOM—ANIMATIA ....
CLASS I. MAMMALIA

grayi

nee e eter ees raves eneeeeeescee

Rete wena e becer ee teneeeveees

elephantinus ..
angustirostris ..

Moyacuts

eroenlandica... ee
barbata

Haticu@rvus

Page.

CONTENTS.

Page.
ORDER VIII. DEINOTHERIA... 44

FAMILYI. DEINOTHERIOIDZ 44

DEINOTHERIUM 0.0.0... .cccceeeees ceeeee 44
PIGANtEUM. g.cercenweccassrsesoasencas 46
CUVIELL ‘css catanaiains deradatentealdreiennette 46
MIMUIUM evsvecnsassneareceeycosnraane 46
proavum ... 46
indicum ... 46

FAMILY II. TOXODONTIDZ 47

MT OXODON. vc scccereease aad sevens vend eueaes 47

48
paranensis ..............00. sieceaisaee 48

ORDER IX. SIRENTA ............ 48

FAMILY—MANATIDA .... 49

Manatvs......... 5°
americanus .. 50
senegalensis 51

HALIcoRE 5I
dugong D2
tabernaculi 54

54
55
55
55
55
55
55

TRACHYTHERIUM oo... .ccececceeeeeeaces 55
raulinii 55

RHAYTINA 55
stelleri 56

ORDER X. ZEUGLODONTIA... 57

ZEUGLODON ......eeceecee cee teeceneeeseeene 57
MACTOSPONAYIUS .........ceeceeeee eee 58
cetoides . 59
hhydrarchus ..........::ceeseeeeer ener 59
trachyspondylus ....... 59
gibbesii (Dorydon) 59

SOQUALODON 50.005 see csnitsiaaeniineracseeges 59
grateloupil .......csceeeee tener escn eee 59

ORDER XI. CETAOBRA ...,........ 60

x TABLE OF

Page.
CETACEA, TABULATED SYNOP-

BISHON” gexcdauandsmeceensatmpancuunons 63
SUB-ORDER I. ODONTOCETE.. 64
FAMILY I. PLATANISTIDZ ... 64
PEATANISTA 3 issn vancscceatnsaimnesnauanele 64

gangetica .... 64
Indi 65
SENT vseestencieten apinatiai 65
geoffroyensis ...... 65
FAMILY II. PONTOPORIADZ.. 66
PONTOPORIA. ..yenesccssessenesssswnecunens 66
Dlainvills. ec rvesganssedsyayowawesves 66
FAMILY III. CHAMPSODEL-

BELD Ab! snncnnwiaisiiccweausnlecnesssase cis 67

CHAMPSODELPHIS .....eecceceeesenere ees 67
MACTOSENIUS oo... eee eees specs reece 67
DOP? ia sec vaahenionndiasiemwenietcantons nes 67

ARIONIUS....... 67
servatus 67

FAMILY IV. DELPHINIDZ...... 68

BSTENO? sa siinniaesvageyeieensansmvieeasiaadeoeen . 68
frontatusy.piseoresciiistenisiuadeatensanstes 69
COMPTCRBUS -sexeciinsinespacendenarcnracs 69
rostratus .... 69
sinensis 69
PACA MU. cpu pe sd derentonntecy npaciness 70
maculiventer .......cscesceseerseeeee 70
TNE PINOSUS sandicnacdivooweedaacnenss 70
malayanus .... 7°
COPONBIS saccicwas emauwmnmnrcntaieditse 70
attenuatus ......... ee caseceeeeeneees 71
brevimanus .... 7%
roseiventris .... 71
Hlnvaa tiltst say Gen cncaieebexstancaentss 71
guianensis ......... 71

DELPHINTS ..........e 0 72
longirostria . 72
delphis .... 72
moorei .......... 73
marginatus 73
major ......, 73
MOMIB, don catnarsiverd 73
nove zealandin . 74
albimanus ......... 74
perniger .......... “74
fulvifasciatus 74
pomeegra..... 75
obliquidens .. - 75
BAO wsecanecubdndnutonanceemsenelsnnectine 75

CONTENTS.

Page.

Deruints—continued.
Frith oo. c cece ce see eeee essen eeeee ones 75
walkerii .......05. 75
stenorhyncbus.... 76
forsteri.......... 76
euphrosyne . 77
punctatus....... 77
freenatus ..... 77
dubius ..... 78
doris..... 78
dorides........ 8
eutropia ..... 78
CBPEDSIB .....-..se00 98
compressicaudus . 79
chamissonis .... 79
obscurus ....... 79
clymene ..... 79
lateralis ..... 79
microps 80
BEYER casera 80
tethyos.. 80
alope ........ 80
DWURSTOucerisecltousteen 81
truncatus .. 81
erebennus..... 81
metis ..... sD
cymodoce.. 82
abusalam .. 82
eurynome..... 82
catalania ........ 82
LaGENORHYNCHTS . 83
albirostris ..... 83
electra ........ 84
ASIA: veidececese 84
fusiformis..... 84
acutus ........ 84
breviceps .......... 85
leucopleurus 85
clanculus ........ 85
crucigera .. 85
thicolea ........ 85
ceruleo-albus .... 86
intermedius....... 86
OROAELLA ..... 86
brevirostris 86
fluminalis........ 87
ORCA oe, 87
gladiator ........ 88
stenorhyncha ,, 88
latirostris ........ 88
rectipinna 88
| BEET samcnnaiaes 88
| arcticus...... 89
CULFOPOUB.......cccseeeee Fe scin'eatiele 89

TABLE OF CONTENTS. x1

Page.

Oxnca—continued.
CAPEDSIS 0... 6, ceccesseceenes . 89
BEPICANA: sud se sisauiesinresmecets 89
magellanica...,...... 89
tasmanica,.........cese. . 89
pacifica (ophysia) sidan » 89
PSRUDORGA iss ceasoransajenideaseceess wren gI
crassidens........ wees OT
meridionalis + 92
STEREODELPHIS ..... we (93
brevidens..... ee ave 93
PHOCENA........... wad wens 93

COMMUNES i eesseeseesesteeees OA

sg raa Vv. DELPHINAPTER-

WAM avdinwertasite iain euendiadwenadavssees 95
DELPHINAPTERUS 95
peronii ........., ; . 95
NEOMERIS .........c00000 ees » 95
phoceenoides vere 5
DOPEAIS: osssciseeccansoerenssaevssan OO
FAMILY VI. BELUGIDZ ....... 97
BELUGA: sscsaseamsancesd si netsier vot 97
catodon 97
rhinodon 98
declivis...... bs 98
angustata............, 98
canadensis z see 98
FAMILY VII. GLOBIOCEPHAL-
MLD iAG seescastiae satvedivan oonsnieatonaccae 99
GLOBIOCEPHALUS ...cccescseseeeseseneee 99
melas .......ceceeee ave 99
macrorhynchus ., 100
affinig ...........0.. 101
intermedius... . IOI
edwardsii ... IOI
grayi...... 101
scammonii .,. IOI
indicus....... 101
sieboldii ... IOI
sinensis 101

BIO: vpcvacasavenerscsessesscesusesienay, TOL

SPHAROCEPHALUS ..,..cseeeeeseeeeeeeeees LOL
UNCTASSALUS ve.eeeeeseceec owen en iicegaaar LOX

FAMILY VIII. MONODONTIDS 102

MONODON cc paccwediscssesssane sine tilemasina 102
MONOCEYOS vieees 102

Pee mecenroeeaaereries

FAMILY IX. GRAMPIDZL......... 103

GRAMPUS). seacwosvanadconsssaiwttin a
griseus ...... spe
TISSOANUS .....040645
richardsonii.. Teaiahs

FAMILY X.
SE LDAG sinc carc tg aya sniasionsad secvaate nai

HYpPrroopon ...
butzkopf ..,
latifrons ...

ZIPHIUS: avenceeccans

cavirostris

gervaisi ...... said

indicus...... Weiohianina IMME Raawings 107
CHONEZIPHIUS.......e0.ccceceseseeueneeveve 107

Planivosbris ci. scsessarsaceaesivevevsens 107
FAMILY XI. PHYSETERIDS... 107
KOGTA o.. esses sosgiaaiinapasiiles Siretidesy, 108

breviceps ... 108

PT AYN asics eccaines aiatn aime ne sispacestortte 108

PHYSETER ..... 110
macrocephalus, .. III
BALENODON ......... 115
physaloides ... 115
LONGATUG sicsiascsessmneiniavacaneys 115
FAMILY XII. MESOPLODON-
TIDA....... we TNS
MESOPLODON ...... vee TI6
sowerbiensis... sisias BIO
layardii ........ inden veamnseees TEP

DIOETODOM cscs sa sevesigusveccssiaciagaoaven LIF
densirostros...

BEBARDIUS ......
PNTIOURL © *pnsssnestensiaan al orveiaiatice seks
SUB-ORDER II. ANODONTO-
CEDE) ccsiccanvsesccien auipintananarrbasiOueten 1 119
FAMILY XIII. BALANOPTER-
TD AD ssvesunis sai aie sees as Lien ggaieuede L2O
PHYSALUS .,..... 120

antiquorum ...
sibbaldii ...,.
patonichus ..,
antarcticus ...

SIBBALDIUS ....
laticeps.
borealis...

schlegellii. iangeateceaees

x TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page Page.
BALENOPTEBA.......000cccsssseeesesesnees 128 || FAMILY XVI. BALAINIDZ ..,. 132
Bates BRAT A sipancce ens scsarncn cxnnieereereeies

POUHPENES: .. oo. eoverscceccccas TBE WO ee eee

boops
lalandii....
americana,

FAMILY XV. AGAPHELIDS.... 131

AGA PIELUS e scsiiscsegecsivagncectescbinsn(ees
gibbosus ...
glaucus

mysticetus

EVUBALENA ........
biscayensis ..
japonica ....... ist
BUSbTALIS 5303 ascetic apisdeiosenmancttans

Addenda.

GLOBIOCEPHALUS melas..............0646 139

GRAMPUS gYiseUS ...........cseseeeeeeee 140

Kinepom—A NIMALIA.

* Organs arranged in pairs.

Suz-Kinepom I. VERTEBRATA.

Animals which possess an internal skeleton, of which a back-bone,
or vertebral column, composed of numerous joints, is always present.
Blood red ; sexes distinct; limbs never exceed two pairs.

+ Pulmonata, respiring by lungs.
Crass 1—MAMMALIA, blood warm—Man, Beasts, Dugongs,
Whales, &c.
» 2.—AVES, blood warm.—Birds.

» 98—REPTILIA, blood cold—Lizards, Snakes, Tortoises,
Frogs, &c.

tt Branchiata, respiring by gills.
» 4—PISCES, blood cold.—Fish.

Sus-Kinepom II. ANNULOSA.

Animals without an internal skeleton: protected externally by a
more or less hard articulated integument, and whose bodies and limbs
are divided into segments or joints. Blood colourless, cold.

Crass 1—ARTICULATA.—lInsects, Centipedes, Spiders, Crabs, &e.
» 2—ANNULATA.—Worms, Leeches, Intestinal Worms, &c.

Suzs-kinepom III. MOLLUSCA.

Animals invertebrated, inarticulated, whose bodies are soft, and
usually protected by a hard, calcified shell. Blood colourless, cold.

Cuass 1—CEPHALOPODA.—Squid, Argonaut, Cuttle-fish, Nauti-
lus, &c.

» 2—GASTEROPODA.—Periwinkle, Har-shell, Land and Sea
Snails, &e.

» 3—PTEROPODA.—Hyalea, Clio, &c.

» &—BRACHYOPODA.—Lamp-shells, Lingula, &c.

» §.—CONCHIFERA.—Oyster, Mussel, Cockle, &c.

» 6—TUNICATA.—Sea-squirts, Ascidians, Social Ascidians, &c.
B

2
** Organs not arranged in pairs.

Sup-kinepom IV. RADIATA.

Animals whose organs are placed in a circle around the mouth or
axis of the body, and which consequently exhibit no right nor left side.
Blood colourless, cold.

Crass 1.--ECHINODERMATA. — Sea-cucumber, Trepang, Sea-
urchin, Star-fish, &c.
Sea-nettle, Portuguese Man-of-war,

+ 2—noornyta— | Con and Sponge Animals, countless
aquatic microscopic beings, &e.

Sus-kinepom I. VERTEBRATA.

Crass 1—MAM MALIA,

or Animals which suckle their young.

Sus-ciass I. PLACENTALIA.

Animals provided with a placenta, by which the fetus is connected
to the womb and nourished through the medium of the blood.

Section A. UNGUICULATA.

Limbs furnished with nails or claws.

Orver 1.—BIMANA.—Man.

» 2—QUADRUMANA.—Old and New World Apes, Marmozets,
Lemurs, &c.

» 98—CHEIROPTERA.—Bats, Flying Fox.

» 4--~INSECTIVORA.—Hedgehog, Shrew, Mole, &c.

» 5 —RODENTIA.—Rat, Porcupine, Hamster, Squirrel, Rabbit,
Beaver, &ec.

» 6—CARNIVORA.—Bears, Dog, Cat, Weasel, Otter, Sea
Otter, &e.

3

Section B. PINNATA.
Limbs fin-shaped.
Oxnprer 7.—PINNIPEDIA.—Eared and common Seals, Walrus, Sea
: Elephant, &c.
» 8—DEINOTHERIA.—Deinotherium, Toxodon.
» 9.—SIRENIA.—Manatee, Dugong, &c.
» 10.—ZEUGLODONTIA.—Zeuglodon, &e.
» 11—CETACEA.— Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises.

Section C. UNGULATA.
Limbs furnished with hoofs.

» 12.—ARTIODACTYLA.—Hippopotamus, Pig, Camel, Deer,
Sheep, Ox, &e.

» 138.—PERISSODACTYLA.—Horse, Tapir, Rhinoceros, Hyrax,
&e. .

» 14.—PROBOSCIDEA.—Elephant, Mastodon, &e.

Section D. SUB-UNGULATA.
Limbs furnished with hoof-like claws.

» 15.—EDENTATA.—Megatherium, Sloth, Aard-vark, Arma-
dillo, Ant-eater, &c.

Sus-crass II. IMPLACENTALIA.

Animals destitute of the placenta; the foetus not connected to the
womb.
Orper 16—MONOTREMATA.—Australian Hedge-hog, Duck-billed
Platypus.
17.—MARSUPIALIA.— Kangaroo, Wombat, Opossum, Native
Cat, &e.

”

4

Section B. PINNATA.

Seals, Dugongs, and Whales, the living representatives of the
Pinnata, although they differ greatly in many essentials of structural
character and external form, appear nevertheless to constitute a very
compact sectional group, being intimately allied—not only by the
several usually recorded features of similarity, progressively exhibited
by a series of transitional links,—but likewise, and that impressively,
by the possession in common of a peculiarity of organisation, unknown
to any other of the Mammalian Orders, with a solitary exception.

The following comparative details will serve to illustrate the former
assertion, but the restricted nature of this treatise permits me no
license in this, as well as in other cases, to diverge into anatomical
particulars, beyond the simple allusion to the existence of the latter ;
it being imperative to refer to the fact, in order to sustain, by its
additional contribution, the validity of the present deviation from the
beaten track, in allying, so immediately, the Pinnipedia with the Sirenia
and Cetacea.

The transition, apparently so incongruous, from the purely terres-
trial quadrupeds to such mammals as the Dugong and the Whale,
whose hinder members are defective, and whose lives are rigorously
restricted to the waters, is effected through the medium of the sem1-
aquatic carnivorous animals, the Sea Otter, the last erratic represen-
tative of the land flesh-eaters, and the Sea Bears, the first of the series
of the present section.

The lengthened fur-covered body, the shortened limbs, still capable
of being used for progression on land,—the palmated and unguiculated
feet,—the small, somewhat depressed tail,—the oceanic habits,—the
similarity of food, and mode of capture,—and the process of mastica-
tion commonly above the surface of the water,—when considered in
the aggregate, attest the affinity of the Sea Bear to the Sea Otter in
sufficiently marked characters, however greatly each separate function
may be modified under the varying conditions of their existence.

Then, by the more elongated form of the Phocide proprie,—by the
nearly immovable condition of their hinder limbs, which stretch
rigidly backwards almost in a line with the body, the broad webbed
feet being capable only of lateral free motion for the purpose of pro-
pulsion through the water,—and by the external position of the nostrils
at the end of the muzzle,—the animals of the order Pinnipedia
approach those of Sirenia.

The Manatee, Dugong, and the Rhytina, in possessing horizontal,
cartilaginous, tail-like, hinder extremities,—in having the nasal aper-
tures placed high up on the skull, although the nostrils terminate at
the extremity of the face,—in many other portions of their structural
character,—and in their wholly aquatic existence,—graduate so
naturally into the whale-tribe, as to have caused Cuvier to term
them the herbivorous Cetacea.

5

These inferences, derived comparatively from only a few generalities,
may be considered as too theoretical, but walennitelcuists have already
revealed to us the interesting forms—some unfortunately imperfect—of
the extinct Deinotherium, the Halitherium, and the Zeuglodon, whose
remains have, by their intermediate character, materially aided to
substantiate the alliance between the finned Mammals.

There still exists, however, a wide and indefinite interval which
separates the three orders, and which will have to be filled up by the
further discoveries of fossil relics before any satisfactory linear
arrangement can be assured.

PINNIPEDIA.

HIND LIMBS

FAMILIES, . . I. a
TEB. GENERA, MOLAR TEETH. | EAB CONCHES UNDER FUR. IN REPOSE.

3 Abundant, long,
Otariade...... } External. Sparse. Bent for-
a Single- None. wards.
Trichechida..... Trichech rooted.

None.

. Macrorhinus
Cystophoridee { Cystophora.......| J

Monachus........! Not visible. | >Moderate, short.) | Bent back-
Phocidw ...... EDOGA asset i double. [

NUT] { More or less! wards,
Halichoerus.....

Stenorhynchus, None,

rooted.

Qe

OrpER 7. PINNIPEDIA,?

Amphibia’ of Cuvier, Otaries,> Walrus,‘ Seals.’

The front limbs of all the animals which compose this order are
powerful, short, nearly hidden within the skin of the body ; the paws,
however, advance, are fin-like, and provided with five long fingers, which
diverge from each other, and are completely embedded in the sur-
rounding membrane: these fingers, in general, diminish in size from
what we may call the thumb to the little finger.

The fore-limbs are used for swimming purposes, for seizing the
prey, for assisting in movements on land and for ascending rocks or
blocks of ice.

The hind limbs are even more powerful than the front ones, and
when at rest are in some species directed forwards, similar in position
to those of terrestrial mammals; in others backwards, in a line with

1 Pinna, a fin; and pes, a foot.

2 AugiBios Caups and Bids), capable of living on land and in water. I may remark
that the term amphibious, when applied to these animals, is incorrect, for not possess-
ing gills they cannot breathe under water, but must come to the surface to respire
the atmospheric air, as other mammals do. Existing, however, on fish and other
marine prey, they possess, on extraordinary occasions, the essential attribute of
only breathing once in twenty minutes, whereas many land animals are compelled
to do so twenty times in the minute.

3O%s, wrds, the ear.

4 From the German “ wall,” as in wallfisch, a whale, and “ross” w horse.

5 From the Saxon “ seol,” “sele,” “syle.”

6

the body, which they terminate; the bones are short, and strong ; the
five toes of the foot are filled up between with a flexible membrane,
which enables them to spread out when in action into broad webbed
paddles, and again in repose to fold together; of these toes the lateral
ones are the largest, the others diminishing towards the centre.

By means of these hind limbs, seals are principally rendered expert
swimmers, and perform their evolutions in the water with ease,
rapidity, and endurance.

The body is elongated, conical, and tapers from the chest to the
tail; it is clothed either with long, soft, compact hair, enveloping a
valuable under-fur,—or with hair short, smooth, firmly adpressed to
the skin, and slightly unctuous. The mamme are ventral. The head is
round, with a large, full, fleshy muzzle, studded with long stiff bristles.
The eyes ave large and dark, expressive of intelligence, and eminently
adapted for seeing under water. The ears are very small, mostly not
visible externally. The neck is long and flexible; the cervical
vertebre, free. The sternum is usually composed of eight bones, to
which nine or ten pair of ribs are directly jomed. The costo-sternal
ribs are cartilaginous. The dorsal line is without any protuberance.
The tail is very short, usually compressed, and placed immediately
between the hind feet.

As might be expected from this peculiar structure, so admirably
adapted for the watery element in which they pass a great portion of
their lives, these animals when on the land are very ungainly in their
movements. It is only in a few species where progression appears to
be accomplished, though very awkwardly, in a manner similar to that
of the terrestrial quadruped ; while in others, it is attained by bending
or arching the extremely flexible back-bone, by fixing firmly the
posterior portion of the body on the ground, and then by suddenly
straightening out, in front, the whole frame. By a quick repetition of
this movement, a series of jerking leaps takes place, and, assisted
materially by the fore-paws, a speed is attained, especially on the ice,
sufficient to outstrip 4 man running in pursuit.

Seals are eminently gregarious, and consequently are seldom met
with except in large herds. They resort to the land for the purpose of
bringing forth and suckling their young—which ata birth is commonly
one, very rarely two—for basking in the sun, in the warmth of which
they delight, for repose and slumber during the night, and for shelter
from tempestuous weather.

To ascend rocks or masses of ice of ordinary elevations, they fasten
their fore-paws, with the gripe of a vice, on inequalities, and uplifting
their unwieldy carcasses, they with tolerable facility gain the summit ;
but when the sides of these elevations prove too precipitous, they
await the swell of the wave, which wholly or partially floats them to
their purposed place of repose ; but in the latter case they cling with
tenacity to the face of the rock until another and larger wave lifts
them to a sufficient height.

7

The brain of the Seal tribe is usually much developed, and writers
best acquainted with the habits of the species accord to these animals
the possession of a considerable amount of intelligence and sagacity,
scarcely inferior to those exhibited by the dog. This favourable opinion
has been frequently verified by many interesting examples, while in a
state of semi-domestication; although it is palpable that these
faculties, when exercised in their natural element, the full extent of
which we can have no means of accurately ascertaining, must neces-
sarily excel those which they manifest on shore.

With the view of freeing from complication the many intricacies
which at the present time obscure the consideration of the animals
composing this imperfectly understood Order, and to insure to the
student a ready, yet comprehensive insight into the systematic dis-
position of the species, I commence by rejecting, as comparatively
valueless, the highly elaborated Synopsis of Tribes, Genera, and
Species, which have been solely based upon the slight variations
exhibited in the cranial development ; for such indications in the main
are unreliable, and their omission, in regard to methodical deter-
mination, presents no appreciable obstruction in the way of future
research.

By the material curtailment, which this decision facilitates, of the
list of those alleged distinct kinds whose identity rests wholly upon
such adventitious qualities, and likewise by uniting under the same
genera the animals whose separate positions have been established upon
the equally trivial evidence of a shade of colour or of a limited range
of habitat, I arrive at a simpler, and, I believe, at a truer estimate of
the number of species which constitute the Pinnipedian group.

The Seals are arranged in this elementary treatise under two heads,—
the Eared, and the Earless Seals: the former represented by one
family, the Otariade; and the latter by three, the Trichechide,
Cystophoride, and Phocide.

SEALS with external Ears.
Family I. OTARIAD &.?

Incisors 3, canines i, molars 22 or = = 84 or 362
The four middle upper incisors frequently have double cutting edges ;*
the lower ones are bifurcate ; molars, generally closely approximated, are

lots, wrds, the ear. oe

2'This dental formula is the usual concise mode of describing the number and
position of the various teeth. The upper figures refer to the teeth of the upper
jaw, and the lower ones to those of the under jaw; while the hyphen serves to
distinguish the right from the left side. ; :

3« 4 circumstance hitherto unknown in any other animal.”—-CUvIER.

8

conical, with very large single roots; in some the last of the upper ones
have two roots, and small, compressed, lobed crowns ; head short, dog-
like; muzzle enlarged, and furnished with strong, stiff whiskers ; ears
provided with a sub-cylindrical external conch ; eyes large, protected by
eye-lids; mouth very large; tongue forked at the extremity; fore
limbs fin-like, situated far back; hind limbs rather produced, com-
paratively free, and bent forwards in repose,—the limbs evincing, by
their freer use, a nearer approach to the terrestrial Carnivora than
those of any other of the Seal tribe; nails flat, small, slender;
membrane of the feet prolonged beyond the nails into as many lobes
as there are toes; tail short, conical; mamme four, ventral; males
much larger and darker in colour than the females.

These animals, during progression on land, walk on their fore and
hind limbs, and in repose turn the hind feet forwards. In habits they
are gregarious and polygamous.

SEALS, Adults, with abundant under-fur.
Genus AnctocerHatus, F. Cuvier.
Incisors $3, canine 4, molars £ —= 36.

Upper incisors Jarge, lower ones small; canines large, sharply
pointed. Head and face somewhat elongated; cerebral region slightly
elevated; sagittal crest moderately developed; muzzle narrow, pointed,
ey enlarged between and above the nostrils; body more
slender, feet and toe-flaps proportionately longer, than those of the
Sea Lion; claws very small, scarcely visible; toes of the hind feet
short, all nearly of the same length; body covered with hair, and
with thick, permanent, under-fur. In size the Sea Bears are much
smaller than the Sea Lions.

ARCTOCEPHALUS URSINUS,” Linneus. Northern Fur-Seal of Commerce.

Synonyms—Phoca ursina, Linn.
Otaria ursina, Péron. Desm.; Nilsson, Gray, Peters.
Arctocephalus ursinus, Gray, Gall.
Arctocephalus Californianus, Gray, B. M. C. 1866, p. 51.
Callorhinus ursinus, Gray, B. M. C. p.44; Suppl. 1871,
p. 14; Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp., vol. ii., p. 73.

The Northern and Southern Fur-Seals are considered by Dr. Gray
to be generically distinct; the skull of the former (Callorhinus)* “being
easily known” from the latter (Arctocephalus) “ by the shortness of
the face, and convexity of the nose.”

It must be borne in mind, that even in the same species the develop-
ment of the skull exhibits marked sexual characters, as well as many
of those differences of form which occur during the various periods of
growth, So frequently are these cranial variations met with, that it

1 ¥pxros, & bear, and kepaah, the head—bear-headed.
2 Ursinus, bear-like.
3 eaAAos beautiful, and fivos skin.

9

becomes almost impossible to nicely discern the relative position of
individuals, even under favourable circumstances, and the difficulty is
greatly enhanced by the imperfect data afforded by the examination of
a few specimens only.

The exceptional form of the cranium of the Northern Fur-Seal, as
quoted above, appears to display no characters more strongly defined
than those commonly seen in the skulls of many species of the same
genus among the undomesticated mammalia; consequently, a specific
distinction applied to this animal would probably have been quite
sufficient to meet every requirement for scientific classification.

To the foregoing doubts as to the propriety of generic separation
from the Southern Fur-Seal, I may further add, that little dependence,
for the purpose of distinguishing kinds, can be placed on the
appearance of the skin, or on the limit of the range of habitat; for
the colouring of the external hair, and the length, abundance, and
quality of the under-fur, are greatly diversified by sex, by age, by
seasonal condition, and by climate. And the geographic range is not
confined within small bounds, but on the contrary it is extensive, as
clearly established by the habitat of this Fur-Seal, which extends from
the shores of Kamtschatka to those of California,’ an extent of ocean
greater than that from California to the Island of Juan Fernandez, or
than those intervening spaces between the numerous localities in the
Southern Seas, the recognised strongholds of the Southern Fur-Seals.
The barrier, therefore, if any, which forbids the intercourse between
these antipodean relatives exists, not in the distance, but in the passage
across the warm temperature of the torrid zone.

Taking such a view, I can scarcely accede to so broad a separation as
that proposed by Dr. Gray, but I am willing to consider the Northern
animal as a distinct species,—suggesting, however, the probability of
its ultimately proving to be only a member of the one great Fur-Seal
tribe of both hemispheres.

The colour of the external coating of the male, when adult, varies
from black-grey to brown-grey, occasionally pure black; while the
adult female is usually grey, or ash-coloured, but during the shedding
of the coat, many are seen partly ash-coloured and partly brown. The
young of both sexes, previous to the first moult, are uniformly glossy
black, silvered more or less by short white tips; mostly so about the
nape of the neck and hinder parts of the body; or, as Dr. Gray
himself observes, “the skin is so like that of the Arctocephalus
nigrescens, that we were induced to regard it as a second specimen of
that species.”

The under-fur of both sexes and of the young is of a rich reddish
colour, more or less tinted with deeper or lighter shades.

1The Northern Sea Lion (Otaria Stelleri) and the Zalophus Gillespii, also
occupy precisely the same extensive range.
2 Arctocephalus Falklandicus of Peters, Allen, Sclater, &c.

10

The males, when aged, will reach to 8 feet in length, but animals
of 6 feet, or slightly under, are most frequently met with. The
females are very much smaller, scarcely ever exceeding 4 feet.

It will be secn, when I treat of the Southern Fur-Seal, that this
description of the size, the colour of the hair, and under-fur of the
Northern animal is applicable to both, and, in an account of the habits
of the present species, those of the Antarctic Fur-Seal will be found to
be equally truthfully depicted.

“This creature,” writes Steller, “ has four feet on which it can walk
and stand, somewhat like land animals ;” “ when on shore, with the hind
feet folded under, it plants the paws in front and sits as dogs often do,
so that the toes perform the office of heels.” “These animals are
found in amazing numbers in the Islands of the North-west Coast of
America, and so crowd the shore that they oblige the traveller to quit
it, and scale the neighbouring rocks.” They are as regularly migratory as
birds of passage.’ “They live in families, every male being sur-
rounded by from eight to fifty females, which he guards with the
jealousy of an Eastern monarch. Each family keeps separate from
the others, notwithstanding they lie in thousands along the shore,—
every family, including the young, amounting to about 100 or 120.
Even at sea the, distinetness of the families may be perceived.” “ When
fighting they utter hideous growls,—when amusing themselves they
low like a cow,—and after victory chirp like a cricket,—and upon
receiving a wound complain like a whelp.”

“Some twenty or thirty years ago there was a most wasteful
destruction of the Fur-Seal, when young and old, male and female, were
indiscriminately knocked on the head. This improvidence, as every
one might have expected, proved detrimental in two ways. The race
was almost extirpated; and the market was glutted to such a degree,
at the rate, for some time, of 200,000 skins a year, that the prices did
not even pay the expenses of carriage. The Russians, however, have
now adopted’ nearly the same plan which the Hudson’s Bay Company
pursues in recruiting any of its exhausted districts, killmg only a
limited number of such males as have attained their ful! growth, a plan
peculiarly applicable to the Fur-Seal, inasmuch as its habits render the
system of husbanding the stock as easy and certain as destroying it.
In the month of May, with something of the regularity of the
almanac, the Fur-Seals make their appearance at the Island of St.
Paul, one of the Alcutian Group. Each old male brings a herd of
females under his protection, varying in number according to his size
and strength ; the weaker brethren are obliged to content themselves
with half-a-dozen wives, while some of the sturdier and fiercer fellows
preside over harems that are 200 strong. From the date of their
arrival in May, to that of their departure in October, the whole of
them are principally ashore on the beach. The females go down to the
sea once or twice a day,—while the male, morning, noon, and night,
watches his charge with the utmost jealousy, postponing even the
pleasures of eating and drinking, and sleeping, to the duty of keeping

11

his favourites together. If any young gallant ventures by stealth to
approach any senior chief’s bevy of beauty, he generally atones for his
imprudence with his life, being torn to pieces by the old fellow,—and
such of the fair ones as may have given the intruders any encouragement
are pretty sure to catch it in the shape of some secondary punish-
ment.” ‘At last the whole herd departs, no one knows whither.”

“The mode of capture is this:—At the proper time, the whole are
driven like a flock of sheep to the establishment, which is about a mile
distant from the sea; and there the males of four years, with the ex-
ception of a few that are left to keep up the breed, are separated from
the rest and killed. In the days of promiscuous massacre, such of the
mothers as have lost their pups would ever and anon return to the
establishment, absolutely harrowing up the sympathies of the wives and
daughters of the hunters, accustomed as they were to the scene, with
their doleful lamentations.”—Sir George Simpson.

“The male Fur-Seal does not attain mature size until about the sixth
year. He then measures in total length from seven to eight feet, and
six and seven in girth. His colour is then dark brown, with grey
overhair on the neck and shoulders. When in full flesh his weight
varies from five to seven hundred pounds. These and no others occupy
the rookeries (or breeding grounds) with the females.

“A full-grown female measures four feet in length and two anda
half around the body. She usually weighs from eighty to a hundred
pounds. Her colour, when she first leaves the water, is a dark steel-
mixed on the back, the sides and breast being white ; but she gradually
changes somewhat, and in eight or ten days after landing becomes dark
brown on the back, and bright orange on the breast, sides, and throat.’
Hence, it is easy to distinguish those that have just arrived from those
that have been several days on shore. The female breeds the third
year, and is full-grown at four years.

“The breeding rookeries,> which are frequented exclusively by the old
males and females with their pups, occupy the belt of loose rocks
along the shores between the high-water line and the base of the cliffs
or uplands, and varies in width from five to forty rods. The sand
beaches are used only as temporary resting-places, and for playgrounds
by the younger seals; these beaches being neutral ground, where the
old and infirm or the wounded may lie undisturbed.

“The old male appears to return each year to the same rock, so long
as he is able to maintain his position. The native chiefs affirm that one
seal, known by his having lost one of his flippers, came seventeen suc-
cessive years to the same rock.

“Those under six years are never allowed by the old ones on these
places. They usually swim in the water along shore all day, and at
night go on the upland above the rookeries and spread themselves out,
like flocks of sheep, to rest.

1 “ Narrative of a Journey round the World in 1841 and 1842.”
2 See description of female of the Southern Fur-Seal by Musgrave and Morris,
age 15.

3 ° Pribvloff group of Islands.

12

“Wherever a long continuous shore-line is occupied as a breeding
rookery, neutral passages are set apart at convenient distances, through
which ‘the younger seals may pass from the water to the upland and
return unmolested. Often a continuous line moving in single file may
be seen for hours together going from the water to the upland, or the
reverse, as the case may be. When suddenly disturbed while sleeping
on the upland by an attempt of an animal to cross the rookery at any
other place, a general engagement ensues, which often results in the
death or serious crippling of the combatants.

“The old males are denominated by the natives Seacutch (married
seala). These welcome the females on their arrival, and watch over
and protect them and their young until the latter are large enough to
be left to the care of their mothers and the younger males.

“Those under six years old are not able to maintain a place on the
rookery, or to keep a harem, and these are denominated Holluschuck
(bachelors).

“ As soon as a female reaches the shore, the nearest male goes down
to meet her, meanwhile making a noise like the clucking of a hen to
her chickens. He bows to her and coaxes her until he gets between her
and the water, so that she cannot escape him. Then his manner
changes, and with a harsh growl he drives her to a place in his harem.

“Then the males higher up select the time when their more for-
tunate neighbours are off their guard to steal their wives. This they
do by taking them in their mouths and lifting them over the heads of
the other females, and carefully placing them in their own harem,
carrying them as cats do their kittens.

“ Frequently a struggle ensues between two males for possession of
the same female, and both seizing her at once pull her in two, or
terribly lacerate her with their teeth.

“In two or three days after landing, the females give birth to one
pup each, weighing about six pounds. It is entirely black, and
remains of this colour the whole season.

“There are at least twelve miles of shore line on the Island of
St. Paul’s' occupied by tho seals as breeding grounds, with an average
width of fifteen rods. There being about twenty seals to the square
rod, gives 1,152,000 as the whole number of breeding males and
females ; deducting one-tenth for males, leaves 1,037,800 breeding
females. Allowing one-half of the present year’s pups to be females,
this will add half a million of breeding females to the rookeries of 1872,
in addition to those now there, while the young of last year and the
year before are also to be added. This estimate does not include the
males under six years of age, those not being allowed on the rookeries
by the older males, nor the yearlings. Ifwe now add those frequent-
ing St. George’s Island, which number half as many, and make a very
liberal discount for those that may be destroyed before reaching
maturity, the number is still enormous. It will also be seen that the

1 Coast of Kamtschatka.

13

great importance of the Seal fishery is not to be calculated from the
basis of its present yield, since each year adds to its extent, as with
proper care the number can be increased until both islands are fully
occupied by these valuable animals.

“ Previous to 1866 these skins were worth only three dollars each,
but owing to recent improvements in their manufacture they have
become fashionable for ladies’ wear, and soon after the transfer of the
Territories to the United States the price rose to seven dollars.” !

ARcTocEPrHALUS FatKianpicus, Shaw. The Southern Fur-Seal of
Commerce.

Synonyms— Falkland Island Seal, Pennant.
Phoca Falklandica, Shaw.
Phoca antarctica, Thunberg.
Otaria Falklandica, Desmarest.
Otaria cinerea, Péron. Desm.; Peters.
Otaria Delalandii, F. Cuvier.
Otaria Fatklandica, 2 or young. Jardine’s “Nat. Libr.”
Arctocephalus antarcticus, Gray, 8. and W. and Suppl.
Cape Fur-Seal.
Arctocephalus cinereus, Gray. Australian Fur-Seal.
Arctocephalus nigrescens,.Gray. Southern Fur-Seal.
Arctophoca Philippit, Peters. Chilian Fur-Seal.

The few remarks in regard to the variations arising from the
asymmetry of the cranial structure, and to the differences exhibited by
external colouring of the skin, all referable to natural or incidental causes,
which I presented for the consideration of the reader, when discussing
the natural position of the Northern Fur-Seal, apply with equal force
to the Fur-Seals which inhabit the Southern Seas; and although
several of these animals are considered as distinct species by most
writers, yet I have ventured to include them under the one kind, the
Falkland Island Seal of Pennant and Shaw.

In adopting this course, it becomes necessary that some valid
reasons should be given for departing so materially from the usual
arrangement.

In instituting the following comparisons, I refer the student to the
list of the alleged distinct species enumerated in the foregoing
synonyms, and which are described by Dr. Gray, in his Catalogue of
the Seals in the British Museum of 1866, and Supplement 1871; for
these publications are of great authority, inexpensive, and more easily
attainable here than any others with which I am acquainted.

First, then, as to the scientific value of those distinctions said to be
so readily seen in the form of the skulls and in the minor differential
points in the dentition, so as to constitute well defined species.

1 On the Eared Seals (Otariade), by J. A. Allen and Charles Bryant. Aug., 1870.

14

I arrive, by a careful analysis of the researches of certain modern
authors of great experience in such matters, at the following general
but singularly conclusive results, namely :— :

Dr. Peters! considers nigrescens and Philippii = Falklandicus of Shaw
also cinereus = antarcticus.

Mr. Allen’ » nigrescens, cinereus, antarcticus,

Horsteri and Philipp = do.
Dr. Burmeister® » Philippi = a
Mr. Sclater » nigrescens = 0.
Capt. Abbott? ,, nigrescens = do

From these deliberate expressions of opinion, I am led to conclude
that, if these zoologists are correct in their views, the whole series of
the species of the Southern Fur Seals, defined with such precision in the
British Museum Catalogue and Supplement, with the exception of Dr.
Gray’s Falkland Island Fur Seal, merge into the one, the Arctocephalus
Falklandicus of Shaw; if otherwise, the difficulty, even among the
most proficient, of discriminating species correctly, is so palpably dis-
played, that not only a disagreeable impression of unreliableness for
the method of determination is stamped on the mind, but that no
positive conclusions can possibly be drawn from principles so imperfect
in themselves, from the slight and inconstant nature of their characters.

Next, let the size and external colouring of the most familiarly known
animals, which locate the numerous and by no means widely apart
spots which stud the Southern Seas, be contemplated seriatim, and ]
think it will be admitted that the similarity, inter se, revealed by both
of these properties, will likewise corroborate by their concurrent testi-
mony the probable unity of the many so-called species.

The Sea Bears, which inhabit the Falkland Islands, “have the hair
short, cinereous, tipped with dirty white; length, 4 feet ”’—Phoca
falklandica, Shaw. “ Blackish-brown, grey-black”’—Arctoc. nigrescens,
Gray. “The full-grown seal is about the size of the common English
seal; the hair differs in colour, being sometimes grey, and at other
times of a brownish tint; that of the young is of a darker brown
colour.” —Abbott.

South Shetland Islands. “ Nothing is more astonishing than the dis-
proportion in the size of the male and female; a large grown male is
six feet nine inches, while the female is not more than three and a half
feet ; the young are at first black, but after a few weeks they become
grey.” — Weddell. :

Island of Juan Fernandez. “They are the size of an ordinary calf;
their hair is of different colours, as black, brownish-grey, and spotted.
—Dampier. “Above dark-grey, more greyish on the tou and neck,
brownish-white beneath.”—Otaria Philippit.—Peters.

1 Professor W. Peters, Berlin.

? Professor J. A. Allen, Cambridge, America.
3 Museum, Buenos Ayres.

4 Secretary to Zoological Society of London.

5 Proceedings Zool. Soc., Lond., 1868,

15

New Year's Island, Staten Land. “Their size was equal to that
assigned them by Steller; their hair is dark brown, sprinkled with
grey.” —Forster. “They are rather larger than the common seal, and
their general colour is iron-grey.”—Cook.

Coast of Australia. ‘‘ Black, greyer beneath; the hair changes its
colour as the animal grows ; the young being generally black ; and the
adult males and females algo differ considerably in the colour of the
hair.” —Macgillivray, Arct. cinereus.— Gray.

Auckland Isles. “ Males, bulls, or sea lions, uniformly blackish-grey ;
length usually six feet, but the aged animal greatly exceeds this size.
Females, cows, or tiger seals, grey, golden-buff, or beautiful silver colour,
sometimes spotted like a leopard ; smaller than the males.” —Musgrave.

Auckland Islands, South Coast of New Zealand, Shetland, Antipodes,
and Chatham Islands. “ Adult male, or wig, uniformly blackish ; pups
born black ; after a few weeks they become grey; at a year old the
grey changes to light-brown, and when adult, to black, or blackish-grey.
Adult female, or clapmatch, grey to silver-grey, at times golden-buff ;?
pups black.” —Morris.?

South Africa. ‘“ Adult male, or large wig, hair whitish, intermixed
with a few black ones; adult, or middling, hairs reddish-white, grizzled,
with scattered black hairs; young, or black pup, black, without any
grey tips. Aret. antarcticus, from skins.”— Gray.

From such perplexing sources no reasonable data for distinguishing
species can be deduced. I would, therefore, advise the student to
consider all the animals mentioned in the synonyms as of the one
kind, the A. Falklandicus of Shaw; at least, until stronger proofs
of dissimilarity be produced to displace the present characteristics,
which certainly appeal more to the imagination than to reality.

The Arctocephalus Falklandicus may be thus described :—

The males, when aged, are whitish-grey, and between seven and
eight feet in length; when adult, brown-grey to black-grey, and about
six feet in length; young, grey, upper portions soon assume darker
‘colours; pups, black.

The females, when adult, are ash-grey to silver-grey, at times golden-
buff, frequently spotted ; from three and a half to four and a half feet
in length, even more when aged ; pups, black.

The under-fur of both sexes is rich reddish, diversified by deeper or
lighter shades, and variable in length ‘and abundance; the whole being
influenced by age, sex, and condition.

Habitat,—Southern Seas generally.

The economy of the Southern Fur-Seal has from time to time been
luminously portrayed by many writers, and, as mentioned before in
page 10, will be found, by perusal of the following extracts, selected
from many, to correspond precisely with the habits entertained by the
Northern animal.

1 See Mr. Allen’s description of the female of the Northern Fur-Seal, p. 11.
2 For many years a sealer by profession, and now residing in Sydney.

16

By Mr. Forster, the companion of the celebrated Captain Cook, we
are fold, that at Staten’s Land, where these animals existed in thousands,
“as soon as I was near enough I shot the surly creature dead, and at
that instant the whole herd hurried to the sea, and many of them
hobbled along with such precipitation as to leap down between forty
and fifty perpendicular feet upon the pointed rocks on shore without
receiving any hurt, which may be attributed to their fat easily giving
way, and their hide being remarkably thick.” “The young cubs barked
at us, and ran at our heels when we passed, trying to bite our legs.”

Mr. Weddell informs us “When these Shetland Seals were first
visited, they had no apprehension of danger from meeting men; in fact
they would lie still while their neighbours were killed and skinned, but
latterly they had acquired habits for counteracting danger by placing
themselves on rocks from which they could in a moment precipitate
themselves into the water.” “Their sense of smell and hearing is acute,
and in instinct they are little inferior to the dog.” “These,” the females,
“in the early part of December begin to land, and they are no sooner
out of the water than they are taken possession of by the males, who
have many serious battles with each other in procuring their respective
seraglios, and by a peculiar instinct they carefully protect the females
under their charge during the whole period of their gestation. By the
end of December all the females have accomplished the purpose of their
landing.” “ By the middle of February the young are able to take the
water, and after being taught to swim by the mother, they are abandoned
on the shore, where they remain till their coats of fur and hair are
completed.” (From Jardine’s “ Nat. Libr.’’)

A detailed account of the habits of the Fur-Seal of the Auckland
Isles has recently been given by Mr. Musgrave,’ which he acquired
during a compulsory residence in their midst of nearly twenty
months. Of the females, he relates that “Their nose resembles
that of a dog, but is somewhat broader; their scent appears
to be very acute. The eyes are large, of a green colour, watery
and lustreless ; when on shore they appear to be constantly weeping.”
“In the latter part of December, and during the whole of January,
they are on shore a great deal, and go wandering separately through
the bush, and into the long grass on the sides of the mountains
above the bush, constantly bellowing out in the most dismal manner.
They are undoubtedly looking out for a place. suitable for calving in.
I have known them to go to a distance of more than a mile from the
water for this purpose.” ‘‘ Females begin to breed when two years old,
and carry their calves eleven months, and suckle them for about three
months.” “Before they have their calves, the cows lie sometimes in
small mobs (from twelve to twenty), as well as while giving suck, and
there is generally one or two bullsin each mob. The cows are evidently
byfarthemostnumerous.” Of the habitsof the veryyoung, he says: “It
might be supposed that these animals, even when young, would readily

1 Narrative of the wreck of the “ Grafton.” Melbourne, 1865.

17

go into the water—that being one of their natural instincts—but
strange to say such is not the case ; it is only with the greatest difficulty
and a wonderful display of patience thatthe mother succeeds in getting
her young in for the first time. I have known a cow to be three days
getting her calf down half a mile, and into the water; and what is
most surprising of all, it cannot swim when it is in the water ; this is
the most amusing fact: the mother gets it on her back, and swims
along very gently on the top of the water ; but the poor little thing is
bleating all the while, and continually falling from its slippery position,
when it will splutter about in the water precisely like a little boy who
gets beyond his depth andcannotswim. Then the mother gets beneath
it and it again gets onher back. Thus they go on, the mother frequently
giving an angry bellow, the young one constantly bleating and crying,
frequently falling off, spluttering and getting on again; very often
getting a slap from the flipper of the mother, and sometimes she gives ita
very cruel bite. Thepoorlittleanimals arevery oftenseen with their skins
pierced and lacerated in the most frightful manner. In this manner they
go on until they have made their passage to whatever place she wishes to
take her young one to.” The males are described thus :—‘“ One of a
medium size will measure about 6 feet-from nose to tail, and about
6 or 7 feet in circumference, and weigh about 5 hundredweight. They
by far exceed these dimensions.” “The fur and skin are superior to
those of the female, being much thicker.” On the neck and shoulders
he has a thicker, longer, and much coarser coat of fur, which may
almost be termed bristles; it-is from 3 to 4 inches long, and can be
ruffed up and made to stand erect at will, which is always done when
they attack each other on shore or are surprised—sitting as a dog
would do, with their head erect and looking towards the object of their
surprise, and in this attitude they have all the appearance of a lion.”
“They begin to come into the bays in the month of October, and
remain until the latter end of February, each one selecting and taking
up his own particular beat in a great measure; but sometimes there
are several about the same place, in which case they fight most furi-
ously, never coming in contact with each other (either in or out of the
water) without engaging in the most desperate combat, tearing large
pieces of skin and flesh from each other ; their skins are always full of
wounds and scars, which however appear to heal very quickly.”
“At this place we saw hundreds of seals; both the shores and the
water were literally swarming with them, both the tiger and black
seal; but in general the tiger seals keep one side of the harbour, and
the black seals, which are much the largest, the other side, but in
one instance we saw a black and atiger seal fighting. They were at it
when we first saw them. We watched them about half-an-hour, and
left them still hard at it; they fight as ferociously as dogs, and do not
make the least noise, and with their large tusks they tear each other
almost to pieces.” ‘There is one seal which we all know gens
well wherever we see him ; he appears to be the king of the mob whic

belong to Figure of Eight Island. He is a very large dark-coloured

Cc

18

bull of the tiger breed; we have named him Royal Tom. He is not at
all afraid of us when we see him on shore ; if the seals around him run
away, Tom will not move, and takes very little notice of us. One
day some of the men tried to drive Tom into the water, but he would
not move for some time; but after some trouble I suppose they got
him to start; he went leisurely down to the water, and there he
remained scratching himself; Tom had a dry coat and did not fancy
wetting it just then, and into the water he would not go.” “In
going up I found seal tracks nearly to the top of the mountain, which
I reckon is about 4 miles from the water ; and about 3 miles upI
saw a seal.” “We killed a cow and her calf this morning ; we got
milk from the cow after she was killed, which was very rich and good,
and much better even than goat’s milk.” “The seals are ve
numerous here ; they go roaring about the woods like wild cattle ;
indeed we expect they will come and storm the tent some night. We
live chiefly on seal meat.” “And a one-year-old seal, part of which
we had roasted for dinner to-day—it was delicious.” ‘One instance
came especially under my notice of a cow, whose calf had been killed
and taken away from her, roaming about the place where she lost it,
incessantly bellowing, and without going into the water—consequently
going without food for eight days. After the first few days her voice
gradually became weaker, and at last could scarcely be heard. I made
sure that she was dying. She survived it however, and on the eighth
day went into the water.”

Mr. Morris, in addition to the information already quoted in page
15, has kindly furnished me with the following interesting particulars
of the history of the Southern Fur-Seal Fishery and the habits of the
animal, which have the advantage of being derived from his own
personal experience.

From him I learn the following particulars. The females in Septem-
ber come on shore to pup, and remain until about March. The pups
are born black, but soon change to grey or silvery grey. The herd then
go to sea for the remaining portion of the year, returning again in
September with regularity.

During this absence at sea, the male pups have changed from the
grey to a light brown colour, while the females remain unaltered.

In New South Wales the sealing trade was at its height from 1810
to 1820; the first systematic promoters of which were the Sydney firms
of Cable, Lord, & Underwood; Riley & Jones; Birnie; and Hook &
Campbell. The vessels employed by them were manned by crews of
from twenty-five to twenty-eight men each, and were fitted out for a
cruise of twelve months.

The mode of capture adopted was: the men selected for the shore party
would number from six to eighteen, this being regulated by the more
or less numerous gathering of the seals seen in the rookery. These men
always land well to leeward, as the scent of the animal is very keen, and
cautiously keep along the edge of the water, in order to cut off the
possibility of retreat: then when abreast of the mob, they approach

19

the seals and drive them up the beach to some convenient spot, av a
small nook, or naturally formed inclosure: this accomplished, one or
two men go in to the attack, while the others remain engaged in pre-
venting outbreaks. As soon as a sufficient number have been slain to
erect a wall of the dead, then all hands rush in to the general massacre.

To so great an extent was this indiscriminate killing carried, that in
two years (1814, 1815) no less than 400,000 skins were obtained from
Penantipod, or Antipodes Island, alone, and necessarily collected in so
hasty a manner that very many of them were but imperfectly cured.
The ship “ Pegasus” took home 100,000 of these in bulk, and on her
arrival in London, the skins, having heated during the voyage, had to
be dug out of the hold, and were sold as manure—a sad and reckless
waste of life.

Mr. Morris confirms Sir George Simpson and Mr. Musgrave in their
account of the affection of the mother for her offspring: “ At the time
of the slaughter the female utters most piteous cries, alternately
looking at you imploringly then at her young one”; such are his words.

AxncrocePHaLus Grayu. Gray’s Falkland Island Seal.

Synonym—Arectocephalus Falklandicus.—Gray, B. M. C. 1866, p. 55;
Suppl. 1871, p. 25.

“Grey, under-fur red; young blackish; length 4 feet,’” “the fur very
soft, elastic; the nose, cheeks, temples, throat, chest, sides, and under-
side of the body, yellowish white. It is easily known from all other
fur-seals in the British Museum by the evenness, shortness, closeness,
and elasticity of the fur, and the length of the under-fur. The fur is
soft enough to wear as a rich fur without the removal of the longer
hairs, which are always removed in the other fur-seals.”’”

This is clearly a species distinct from the common Southern fur-seal,
and even from the two specimens of the Falkland Island sea-bear in
the Edinburgh Museum, with whom it is compared; “te fur” of the
latter “being considerably darker and harsher’”—distinctive qualities
well and tersely defined.

The specific name Fulklandicus having been appropriated almost by
general consent for another animal, I beg to substitute that of Grayiz.

ARCTOCEPHALUS EULOPHUS, Top-knot Seal of Patagonia.

Mr. Morris informs me that during his sealing voyages he occasionally
met with a fur-seal, which he and those connected with him in the trade
readily recognised as a distinct kind—by the diminutive size of the adult
animal; by a top-knot of hair on the crown of the head; and by the
soft, beautiful under-fur, unlike in colour to, and much more valuable
for articles of ladies’ wear than that of any other fur-seal they were in
the habit of capturing.

1B. M. C., p. 65.
? Suppl., p. 26.

20

Relying upon the accuracy of observation acquired by long ex-
perience, I adopt this seal as a new species, and give the description of
its appearance, as I received it from Mr. Morris. Length of the adult
male about + feet, the female being smaller; the under-fur abundant,
in texture fine, and very soft, and, when prime, of a rich plum-colour.
Externally the animals are nearly uniform grey, and they possess a
silver-grey tuft of hairs, or top-knot, on the head. This seal appears to
be rare, only a few specimens haying been taken; some were seen on
the south-east coast of New Zealand, evidently stragglers driven far
away from home. Mr. Morris has been told that they were formerly
common on the shores of Patagonia and the Island of Juan Fernandez.

It will be found by comparing this seal with the Arctocephalus
Grayii, or, Falklandicus of Dr. Gray, that in many important respects
the two greatly assimilate, and that, in relation to others of the same
group, dispersed over the Southern Seas, they in a marked manner alike
disagree.

Dr. Gray, however, makes no allusion to the top-knot; but the skin
of the adult female in the British Museum, upon which he based the
specific characters, may possibly have been imperfect, or deprived of
the coronal appendage during the process of preparation for export.

With such a doubt as to the presence or absence of so peculiar a
feature in the London specimen, I cannot do otherwise than regard the
present animal as a distinct species.

HAIR SEALS—Adults, with sparse under-fur.

Genus Zauopuys, Gill.
Incisors a canines a molars £2 = 34.

Molars large, thick, closely approximated.

The skull, general form narrow; muzzle narrow; face considerably
produced’ ; sagittal crest greatly developed.

In size intermediate between the Arctocephali and the Otarie, and
in external features distinct from either. The adult animals always
possess a sparse under-fur.

ZALOPHUS GILLEsPII, Macbain. Californian Hair Seal.

Synonyms—Aretocephalus Gilliespit, Gray, B. M. C., p. 55.
Zalophus Gillespit, Gray, Suppl., p. 28, Allen, B. M. C. Z.,
vol. 2, p. 68.
Otaria Stelleri, Schlegel.

1 Za, strongly, and Adgos, crest; in allusion to the great development of the
sagittal crest of the skull.

*«Tn all the skulls we have of the genus (arctocephalus), a line drawn across the
palate at the front edge of the zygomatic arch leaves one-third of the palate behind
the linc, and two-thirds in front of it; while in this species, Gilliespii, i» leaves only
Bee ane ena and very nearly three-fourths in front of the line.’—Gray, B.

.C., p. 55.

21

The male is larger in size and darker coloured than the female,
which latter is described as being yellowish-brown on the sides, black
along the back and head, and reddish-brown on the abdomen. The
length of a skeleton in the Chicago Academy of Sciences, said to be
that uf a very old male, which I doubt exceedingly, would make the
living animal somewhat over seven feet in length; a magnitude inferior
to that of the Fur Seal, and greatly so to that of the aged male of the
kindred species, the Z. lobatus of the Southern Hemisphere. This
skeleton probably represents the remains of an aged female,.for the
dimension given above would correspond nearly with the size usually
attained by our Counsellor Seal of similar sex. Mr. Allen “On the
Eared Seals” distinctly states that “the two (Z. Gillespii & Z. lobatus)
are nearly of the same size, and seem in general to have similar
features.” If so, the length acquired by a very old male of the Z.
Gillespii would be nearer ta eleven than seven feet.

Inhab.: Coasts of Japan and California.

In 1842 Schlegel described and figured in the Fauna Japonica, a hair
seal found on the Japanese coasts, under the name of Otaria Stelleri,
and in 1858 Dr. Macbain indicated a new species of seal, from the
peculiarities exhibited in the form of a skull, which he obtained from
California, now in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,
Edinburgh, naming it the Otaria Gillespii- In the following year Dr.
Gray redescribed Dr. Macbain’s species, adding a figure, obtained from
a cast of the skull. Seven or eight years subsequently, Dr. Peters of
Berlin, by the examination of the specimens figured in the “ Fauna
Japonica,” and comparing them with the Edinburgh one, felt assured
that Schlegel’s and Macbain’s animals were of the same species.

About this latter period, Dr. Gill having seen other skulls of this
species, all of which exhibited constant and radical differences between
them and the forms found among the other eared-seals, very properly
constituted the genus Zalophus.

ZaLopuus Lopatus, Gray. The Counsellor Seal.

Synonyms—Otaria Oinerea, Gray, in King’s Narr. Australia.
Arctocephalus lobatus, Gray, B. M. C. 1866, p. 50.
Arctocephalus Australis, Quoy et Gaimard. Gray, B.M.C.,

p. 57.
Zalophus lobatus, Allen, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., p. 44.
Neophoca lobata, Gray, Suppl. 1871, p. 28.

The general colour of the adult male is black-brown, and that of the
female a shade lighter. The pups are black, and covered abundantly
with soft fur, which diminishes with age. Very old males will attain to
twelve feet in length, but adults from eight to nine feet are usually met
with. This species, formerly very abundant in Bass’s Straits; N.W.
coast of Australia; the Seal Rocks off Port Stephens, &c., is still found
tolerably numerous ; the commercial value of the animal consisting in

22

the hide and oil only. Mr. Morris informs me he never saw this species
at the Auckland Isles. In our Museum there are two stuffed speci-
mens of very young animals, and it is much to be regretted that the
adults, existing almost at our very doors, should remain unrepresented.

HAIR SEALS—Adults, without any under-fur.

Genus Oranta, Péron.
Incisors > canines (7, molars Es, or Ss = 34 or 86.

Upper outer incisors large, resembling canines; canines large, of
the males extremely so; teeth of the female altogether much weaker
and more sharply pointed than those of the male; cranium, subject
to great individual variation, of the male broad, occipital portion
elevated, which, in the very aged becomes immensely developed into
crests ; of the female, much narrower, and shallower, almost deficient
of any occipital crest ; mandible elongate, strong : limbs large, front feet
with rudimentary nails; hinder, with the three middle nails long, the
outer ones rudimentary ; toe-flaps long ; body clothed with hair, with-
out any under-fur in the adults ; males much larger than the females,
and exhibit greater swimming powers, by possessing flippers proportion-
ately much longer and stronger.

Orarra StetiERi, Lesson. The Northern, or Steller’s, Sea Lion.

Synonyms—Leo marinus, Steller, 1751.

Otaria jubata, Péron, 1816.

Otaria Stelleri, Lesson, 1828; Miller, 1841; Gray, B.M.C.,
1850, p. 47, and 1866, p. 60; Sclater, P.Z.S., 1868,

. 190.

Maleserraie monteriensis, Gray, P.Z.S., 1859, and B.M.C.,
1866, p. 49.

Ewmetopias Californianus, Gill, 1866.

Eumetopias Stelleri, Peters, 1866; Gray, A. and M.N.H.,
1866; Allen, Bull, Mus. Comp. Zool.; vol. ii. p. 46;
Gray, B.M.C.; Suppl. 1871, p. 46.

General colour: upper portion from pale yellow to reddish-brown,
much darker towards the tail; under portion, dusky reddish-brown,
darkest on the hinder part of the abdomen; frequently assuming a
brindled appearance on some parts. Limbs, black-brown. The colour,
however, varies much in different individuals—irrespective of age
or sex.

The males attain to 13 feet in length, with a weight of from 1,500 to
1,800 Ibs.: the females are more slender, and scarcely reach to one-
fourth the weight of the male.

Inhabits the American coast, from California to Behring’s Strait, and
down the Asiatic coast to the Kurile Islands.

23

This species differs from the O. Jubata by having one pair less of
upper molars, and in the modified form of certain portions of the
cranium ; but in size, and general proportions, in the character of the
hair, and its external colouring, both species bear a close resemblance.

From Mr. Allen’s excellent treatise on the Eared Seals—from which
the foregoing information has been derived—I extract notices by
Captain Bryant and Mr. Lyman, of the habits of this Northern Sea Lion,
which will be found to correspond greatly with those of the Southern
animal. The former states :—

“The Sea Lion visits St. Paul’s Island' in considerable numbers to
rear its young ”—“ its habits are the same as those of the Fur-Seal ’—
“its skin is of considerable value as an article of commerce in the
territory, it being used in making all kinds of boats, from a one-man
canoe to a lighter of twenty tons’ burden.” “The rookery is on the
north-east end of the island, and the animals have to be driven ten or
eleven miles to the village to bring their skins to the drying-frames. It
sometimes requires five days to make the journey, as at frequent
intervals they have to be allowed to rest. It is a somewhat dangerous
animal, and the men frequently get seriously hurt in driving and
killing it. They are driven together in the same manner as the fur-
seals are; and while impeding each other by treading upon each
other’s flippers, the small ones are killed with lances, but the larger
ones have to be shot.

“This animal is the most completely consumed of any on the island.
Their flesh is preferred to that of the seal for drying for winter use.
After the skins are taken off (2,000 of which are required annually to
supply the trading-posts of the territory) they are spread in piles of
twenty-five each, with the flesh side down, and left to heat, until the
hair is loosened ; it is then scraped off, and the skins are stretched on
frames to dry. The blubber is remoyed from the carcass for fuel, or
oil, and the flesh is cut in strips and dried for winter use. The linings
of their throats are saved and tanned for making the legs of boots and
shoes, and the skin of the flippers is used for the soles. Their stomachs
are turned, cleaned, and dried, and are used to put the oil in when
boiled out. The intestines are dressed and sewed together into water-
proof frocks, which are worn while hunting and fishing in the boats.
The sinews of the back are dried and stripped, to make the thread with
which to sew together the intestines and to fasten the skins to the
canoe-frames.”’

Mr. Theodore Lyman observes :—“ These rocks (Seal Rocks, near
San Francisco) are beset with hundreds of these animals—some still,
some moving, some on the land, and some in the water. As they
approach to effect a landing, the head only appears decidedly above
water. This is their familiar element, and they swim with great speed
and ease, quite unmindful of the heavy surf, and of the breakers on
the ledges. In landing they are apt to take advantage of a heavy wave
which helps them to get the forward flippers on terra firma. As thewave

1 Pribyloff group.

24:

retreats, they begin to struggle up the steep rocks, twisting the body
from side to side, with a clumsy worm-like motion, and thus alternately
work their flippers into positions where they may force the body a little
onward. It is quite astonishing to see how they will go up surfaces
having even a greater inclination than 45°, and where a man would
have to creep with much exertion.” “In their onward path they are
accompanied by the loud barking of all the seals they pass, and these cries
may be beard at a great distance.” “They play among themselves
continually by rolling on each other and feigning to bite. Often, too,
they will amuse themselves by pushing off those that are trying to
land.” “As they issue from the water, their fur is dark and shining,
but, as it dries, it becomes of a yellowish brown. Then they appear to
feel either too dry or too hot, for they move tothe nearest point from
which they may tumble into the sea. I saw many roll off a ledge at
least twenty feet high, and fall like so many huge brown sacks into
the water, dashing up showers of spray.”

Oragia sguBata!, Forster. The Southern or Cook’s Sea Lion.

Synonyms—Phoca jubata, Forster.
Otaria jubata, Desmarest, Gray, Suppl. 1871, p. 18.
Otaria leonina, Péron, Gray, B.M.C. 1866, p. 59; Peters,
1866.
Arctocephalus Hookeri, 2? Gray, B.O.M. 1866, p. 58.
Phocaretos Hookeri, 2 ? Gray, Suppl. 1871, p. 15.
Sea Lion, Hamilton, Jard.. Nat. Libr., vol. 6, p. 237.

Inhabits Magellanic coast, Terra dell Fuego, Falkland and Auckland
Islands, &e.

The external colouring of the hair, greatly diversified from birth to
old age, exhibits not only the more permanent tinge acquired for the
year after each shedding of the coat, but those intermediate changes
which occur through the transitional state. It becomes, therefore,
very difficult to recognize in full the many superficial tints, so as to
suit the varying conditions of growth, but I may venture to offer
the following summary of the colouration, collected from the best
authorities at my disposal :—

The pups of both sexes, black-brown, or very deep chocolate; nape
of the neck and belly somewhat lighter; under-fur very sparse
and reddish, sensibly diminishing with age.

The male, young, above rich brown, beneath pale yellowish—adult,
rich dark brown to brown grey ; beneath brownish or yellowish
white; mane with a brinded yellow and brown shade—aged,
whitish grey.

The female, young and adult, light brown, grey, or dark grey;
abdomen, yellowish grey to light drab.

1 Having a mane, maned.

25

It is recorded by Captain Cook and Mr. Forster that the largest
male seen by them was fourteen feet in length, with a weight of about
1,600 lbs., but such a size is now very rarely met with in this persecuted
race, and a male of nine or ten feet would, in the present day, be con-
sidered an animal of unusual bulk.

The head is small in proportion to the bulk of the body, and pug-
like in expression ; the upper lip overhangs the lower one, and both
are furnished with long, coarse, black bristles ; the body is thick and
cylindrical, more suited for rolling than walking. These animals herd
together in great numbers, but each group consists of one male and ten
or twelve adult females, with a family of from fifteen to twenty young
ones, from the sucking cub to the yearling.

According to Captain Cook—“ it is not at all dangerous to go among
thew, for they either fled or lay still. The only danger was in going
between them and the sea, for, if they took fright at any thing, they
would come down in such numbers that if you could not get out of
their way you would be run over. When we came suddenly upon
-. them, or waked them out of their sleep (for they are sluggish, sleepy
animals), they would raise up their heads, snort and snarl, and look
fierce, as if they meant to devour us; but, as we advanced upon them,
they always ran away, so that they are downright bullies.” And Mr.
Forster, in his description of them, says:—‘ We put into a little cove,
under the shelter of some rocks, and fired at some of these fierce
animals, most of whom immediately threw themselves into the sea.
Some of the most unwieldy, however, kept their ground, and were
killed by our bullets. The noise which all the animals of this kind
made was various, and sometimes stunned our ears. The old males
snort and roar like mad bulls or lions; the females bleat exactly like
calves, and the young cubs like lambs.”

SEALS without external ears.

Molars single-rooted.

Family II. TRICHECHID&.’

Waxevs, or Morss.’

11

Incisors $4, canines }4, molars }¢ = 34 in young animal.
0-0

” ~~ ” i ” a == 18 in the old animal.
Upper canines prolonged downwards into enormous tusks; molars
small, slightly lobed, single-rooted ; head round, obtuse ; muzzle large,
very broad; lips thick, covered with coarse, strong, semi-transparent,
bristles; nostrils large, placed high on the muzzle; eyes small, prominent;

1 gptt, rpixds, head with bristles, and éxw, having.
2 Morss, Russian name of the animal.

26

mouth comparatively small; fore and hind limbs of same size; fingers
of anterior feet nailless, the outer one longest ; toes of posterior feet
provided with small pointed nails,—the inner toes longest, the inner
and outer toes lobed; tail very short, rudimentary; mamme four,
ventral ; body exceedingly bulky, broadest round the chest ; males and
females of nearly the same size; hind limbs free, bent forward. in
repose ; progression on land principally effected by the abdominal
muscles; movements slow in water or on land; in habits sluggish,
monogamous, and gregarious.

The Trichechus! Rosmarus, Walrus,’ Morse,’ Sea-horse, Sea-cow, &e.,
is the only species known of this family—one so singularly conspicuous
among the many strange forms which peculiarize the members of this
order as to be instantly recognized. It is sufficient, then, without
entering into comparative detail with other species, to allude to the
two long and powerful canines, exserted from the upper jaw, and to
the massive bones of the convex skull, modified wholly with reference
to these enormously developed tusks, as forms of structure unpossessed
by any other of the seal tibe, and consequently as being strikingly
distinctive.

These tusks are sometimes two feet long, proportionately thick, and
weigh between eight and ten pounds each.

They are much prized, for the ivory of which they are composed is
denser and of a more permanent white than that of the elephant, and
it, therefore, is more intrinsically valuable as an article of export.

The Walrus commonly measures from 10 to 14 feet in length;
but an old male will reach to 20 feet, or even more, and in
its bulk it corresponds to that of a large ox, although occasionally
it will attain the dimensions of the elephant. The skin is thick, from
one to two inches, black and smooth, and sparingly covered with short,
stiff, hairs ; in the adult, of a pale brown colour ; in the young, blackish;
and in the aged, of a whitish hue.

Inhabit.. The icy regions of the North.*

These animals appear to be omnivorous in their diet, for marine
plants, molluscs, shrimps, cray-fish, and even portions of young seals,
have been found in their stomachs,

When unmolested, they are quiet and inoffensive creatures, passing
their existence harmoniously, in vast flocks upon rocky banks, or
along sandy beaches, and during repose lie frequently huddled one over
the other, like swine, delighting in solitudes far away from the haunts
of man.

1 @plt, tpixés, head with bristles, and éxw, having.

® Rosmar, Norwegian name of Walrus, or Hval-ros, Whale-horse.

3 Morss, Russian name of the animal.

4 Arctic and Antarctic Regions, Wood, Ilust. Nat. Hist., p-515. Polar Regions of
both Hemispheres, Sket. Nat. Hist., 1849, p.199. St. Lorenza, near Callao, Bonelli
Trav. in Bolivia. : ,

27

But when roused into anger in the defence of their young, or on
being goaded with wounds, they then become formidable and dangerous
enemies. Many interesting anecdotes are related of their strength and
ferocity under these circumstances, but Captain Cook’s short and
expressive narative of their habits must for the present suffice. “The
female will defend her young one to the very last, and at the expense
of her own life, whether in the water or on the ice; nor will the young
one quit the dam, though she be dead ; so that if you kill one, you are
sure of the other.” Again, “the female in particular, whose young
had been destroyed and taken into the boat became so enraged, that
she attacked the cutter and stuck her tusks through the bottom of it.”

The flesh is highly valued, and greedily eaten by the natives; the
skin being thick and tough, is useful for many purposes ;—in ancient
times, when cut into strips and plaited, it formed the ropes and cables for
the vessels of northern countries, and the finer portions made into lines,
were used for the capture of whales. In modern times the skins aresent to
America and England, and manufactured into carriage traces and other
harness, or rendered down into glue; the oil, although not abundant, is
superior in quality ; but the teeth constitute the most valuable product
of this animal, for the ivory being of a beautiful texture, and capable of
retaining its whiteness, is extensively used—by the Chinese, for the
wonderful knick-knacks and other curiosities they produce from the
lathe—and by Europeans, for the supply of artificial teeth, and many
kinds of ornamental work dependent on these properties.

Family III. CYSTOPHORID &.’
Sra Exernant: Hoopep Sra.

Incisors { canines iq, molars $;= 30.

Outer incisors large, formed like the canines; molars with small
compressed crowns and greatly swollen single roots ; head short, broad ;
muzzle of the males furnished with a dilatable bladder-like appendage ;
whiskers, long, thickish, waved, obtuse at their tips; nostrils large;
eyes large, prominent; nails elongated, pointed, obsolete in the hinder
feet of the macrorhinus ; tail very short. The animals during pro-
gression on land move principally by means of the abdominal muscles
and extremely flexible spine, assisted materially by their flippers. In
repose the hind limbs are stretched backwards in a line with the body.

In habits polygamous and gregarious.

Genus Macrorutnus, F. Cuvier. Sea Elephants.

The adult males possess the power of elongating the nose into a
tubular proboscis, resembling somewhat the proboscis of the elephant.
In the female this dilatable appendage is undeveloped. Forehead,

a «torts, a bladder, and épw I bear. The generic name Cystophora is likewise
applied to the species of a marine plant, allied to the gulf-weed.

28

convex ; hairs of the whiskers very long, large, roundish, and slightly
waved ; similar hairs in tufts over each eye and on each cheek ; fore
feet with longish claws, the first one being the smallest ; hind feet with
the outer toes large, the three middle ones small, all of them without
nails; eyes large and prominent.

Macroruinvs! ELEPHANTINGS, Molina.

Synonyms—Phoca elephantina, Molina. ;
Phoca proboscidea, Péron, Cuvier, Hamilton.
Macrorhinus proboscideus, F. Cuvier, 1827.
Mirounga proboscidea and Ansonii, Gray, 1827.
Cystophora proboscidea, Nilsson, 1837.
Morunga elephantina, Gray, B.M.C. 8S. & W., 1866, p. 38,
Suppl. 1871, p. 4.
Miourounga. Australian Aboriginals.

The sea elephants retain the semi-terrestrial habits of the eared seals,
although they differ so materially from them in the structure of the
posterior extremities, these becoming so confined within the integuments
of the body as to possess but little or no power of motion.

This cramped condition of the hinder limbs, common to the whole of
the seal tribe, with the exception of the eared-seals and the walrus, is
in this species slightly mitigated by the thick and stout form of the
pelvic bones, which permits a freer use of these members, and by the
greater expansion and stoutness of the shoulder-blades, which strengthen
the flippers, and render their assistance more effective ; so that a power
of locomotion on land is attained of an intermediate character between
that exhibited by the Otariade and Phocide.

The sea elephants were formerly found in great abundance inhabiting
many of the numerous islands lying between the thirtieth degree of
south latitude even to the verge of the antarctic circle, as Juan Fer-
nandez, Staten Island, Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Tristan
d’Acunha, Kergeulen’s Land, and other spots, where sandy beaches and
fresh-water swamps exist: a geographic range so vast, as to comprise
at least two-thirds of the whole area of that portion of the Southern
Seas comprised within the latitudinal belt above specified. Their
powers of locomotion, however, are so great, that frequent stragglers
have been captured on the coasts of Australia.

In fact, it appears that this animal affords another illustration of the
extensive habitat originally enjoyed by certain species, such as the Sea
Lions and the Seals of Commerce of the North and the South, until
driven away by continuous persecution to seek the more restricted and
outlying homes adequate for their reduced numbers.

1 yaxpés, long, and fly, the nose.
2 of an elephant.

29

This enormous creature, commonly twenty feet in length, is not only
by far the largest among the seal-tribe, but the aged male, acquiring a
length of thirty feet and a girth of twenty, will double the dimensions
of the great elephant itself. This huge mass, tremulous with fat, and
the peculiar prolongation of the nostrils when the animal is excited, to
a foot beyond the lips, are of themselves sufficiently characteristic ; but
to complete the description it may be added, that in colour the
males are usually greyish, or bluish grey, rarely blackish-brown, and
that the females are olive brown above, passing into yellowish-bay
he and very much smaller in size in every admeasurement of the
body.

In disposition these seals are mild, fearless, and apathetic, avoiding
intercourse with man by tenanting the most desolate shores, and when
intruded upon by him, showing no resentment, so that he may walk
amongst them without fear, and even bathe in their midst without risk
of injury, so long as they are left in peace to indulge in a slothful exis-
tence, spent principally in wallowing in the mud or reposing among
the long grass, which luxuries they enjoy in social herds of thousands,
until the general harmony is temporarily disturbed by the advent of the
season of courtship, when, madly roused, the males are urged into
desperate conflicts with each other.

“These seals,” observes Captain Carmichael, in his description of
the island of Tristan d’Acunha, “ pass the greater part of their time on
shore ; they may be seen in hundreds lying asleep along the sandy
beach, or among the long grass which borders the sea-shore.

“These huge animals are so little apprehensive of danger that they
must be kicked or pelted with stones before they make any effort to
move out of one’s way. When roused from their slumber, they raise
the fore part of their body, open wide their mouth, and display a for-
midable set of tusks, but never attempt to bite. Should this, however,
fail to intimidate their disturbers, they set themselves at length in
motion, and make for the water, but with such deliberation, that on an
excursion we once made to the opposite side of the island, two of our
party were tempted to ride upon the back of one of them and rode him
tairly into the water.”

It is said by another authority, that when the females produce their
young, the males form a line between them and the sea to prevent the
desertion of their charge, even for the shortest space of time. This
period of nursing and imprisonment lasts for seven or eight weeks,
during which time the females are debarred from food, and become
extremely emaciated.

When taken young, they are easily tamed and become very affec-
tionate: one petted by an English sailor became so attached to his
master, from kind treatment for a few months, that it would come at his
call, allow him to mount upon his back and put his hands into its
mouth.

30

The fishers use, in order to kill them, a lance twelve or fifteen feet
long, with a sharp iron point of about two feet. With great address they
seize the moment when the animal raises his fore-paw to advance, and
plunging the weapon to the heart, he immediately falls down drenched
in blood. The females rarely offer the least opposition when attacked,
but they endeavour to fly; if prevented, their countenance assumes the
expression of despair, and they weep piteously.’ “TI have myself,” says
M. Péron, “seen a young female shed tears' abundantly, whilst one of
our wicked and cruel sailors amused himself at the sight, knocking out
her teeth with an oar, whenever she opened her mouth. The poor
animal might have softened a heart of stone, its mouth streaming with
blood and its eyes with tears.”

The Elephant Seal is valued on account of the oil which it yields in
abundance, an adult male averaging seventy gallons, and which in
quality is limpid, free from smell, never becoming rancid, and in
burning, smokeless. The hide, also, is from its strength and thickness,
extensively used for carriage and horse harness.

New Georgia alone formerly supplied the English market with
twenty thousand gallons of oil annually; this article being from its
quality greatly adapted for softening wool, and for other purposes in
the manufacture of cloth.

The food of this animal appears to consist principally of cuttle-fish
and sea-weed.

Macrorurnus ancustizosteis.” Gill. Californian Sea Elephant.

Synonym—Morunga angustirostris, Gray, Supp. B.M.C. 8S. & W.
1871, p. 5.

This species, introduced recently to our notice by Dr. Theodore Gill,
of Washington, is the northern representative of the Sea-Elephants,
so long and so well known in our hemisphere.

Both kinds appear to be equally bulky, but differ principally in the
narrower muzzle possessed by the American animal.

Inhabits California, from Cape San Lucas to Point Reyes.

Genus CystorHora, Gray.

Adult males possess a dilatable globular sac-like appendage upon
the crown of the head, immediately connected by a cartilaginous crest
with the nostrils, and which, by their agency, can be distended or
collapsed at will. In the females and the young this singular hood is
rudimentary, searcely perceptible. Muzzle very broad, hairy ; hairs of
the whiskers long, whitish, waved, compressed at their base ; those of
the body long and coarse, with an under-fur, short, soft, and thick ; the
limbs are all distinctly clawed.

1 Evidently a common and natural habit, quite irrespective of anguish, for “‘ when
onshore, they” (the fur seals of the Auckland Islands) “appear to be constantly
weeping.” —Captain Musgrave’s Narrative.

2 angustus, narrow, and rostrum, beak or snout.

31

CystorpHora cristata. ralehen. Crested or Hooded Seal.

Synonyms—Phoca cristata, Erxl.
Phoca mitrata, Cuvier.
Cystophora cristata, Nilsson. Gray, B.M.C., 1866, p. 41.
Stemmatopus cristatus, F. Cuvier.
Stemmatopus mitratus, Gray.
Phoca leonina, Linneus.
Hooded Seal, Pennant.
Bladder-nose of Sealers.

This seal is from 8 to 12 feet in length, and in the different stages of
growth varies considerably in colour, which in the’ full-grown male is
dark brown, approaching to black, relieved by numerous largish,
irregularly shaped rings of a greyish hue, scattered over the body. The
young are much lighter coloured, from grey to brown-grey along the
back, with the abdominal portion white.

Speculative writers have ascribed to this bladder-like appendage
many uses to which it can be beneficially applied—such as, that, being
connected with the nostrils, it is subsidiary to the sense of smell,—
that it is a reservoir for air, to be consumed when under water,—that
the head can be buried in it, as in a monk’s hood,—and that it can be
drawn over the eyes, like a cap, to defend them against the storms,
waves, stones, and sand. I need scarcely say that to attribute such
properties to this peculiar sac is purely hypothetic; for the young
males—even up. to three years old—and all the females, exhibit this
peculiarity only in a rudimentary state, yet have their faculties in or
out of water as keenly developed and as well protected from those
injuries to which they are alike exposed. This dilatable globular
appendage on the top of the head, however, clearly indicates—in ‘this
species—the puberal maturity of the male, and serves to modulate the
voice, and to give it those inflections of tones so highly expressive of
desire or rage.

Inhabits the North Atlantic.

This animal, the Harp, the Ringed and the Common Seal, are objects
of extensive capture chiefly for the sake of their skins, which, by care-
ful preparation, can be applied to many useful and ornamental
purposes.

By the natives of Greenland every portion is converted to some
valuable use: the flesh, the oil, and the blood, are greedily consumed ;
their houses are covered with, and their boats made of, the skins of the
older animals ; and these are firmly sewn together by the strong fibres
of the sinews ; while the soft fur furnishes various articles of apparel ;
the stomachs are converted into fishing buoys; the semi-transparent
internal membrane provides the substitute of glass for their windows ;
and the teeth form their spear-heads.

32

The Esquimaux seal hunter, in taking any of these animals, proceeds
thus: “Having ascertained by an examination of the ice that a seal is
near at hand (and he can discover this by the small hole left by the
animal to enable him to raise his head above the water to breathe) he
sets to work to form a kind of arm-chair of square lumps of ice, the
back of course placed to the windward, when, resting his spear, to
which along line is attached, on a small piece of ice, so that he may lift
it with the least possible noise, he places himself in this comfortless
seat, and patiently awaits, perhaps for hours, the return of the animal
to his blow-hole.”’

In their domestic habits the Crested Seals resemble the other poly-
gamous groups, existing at certain times in comparative harmony with
their neighbours, at others, the whole community becomes involved in
strife.

Molars, more or less, with double roots.
Family IV. PHOCID&.*
Monk Seal, Common Seal, Grey Seal, Sea Leopard, &c.

Hind limbs, when at rest on land, are directed backwards nearly in
a line with the body, by the integuments of which they are so enveloped
and confined as to possess but little or no power of motion, the feet
been capable of moving only in an obliquely lateral direction. The
progression on land, therefore, like that of the preceding family, but
more restricted, is effected by means of the abdominal muscles and
extremely flexible spine, assisted materially by the front limbs. In
many other important portions of their structure, they likewise differ
greatly from the Eared Seals:—the skull is but moderately crested ;
the ‘shoulder-blade is reduced in size ; the pelvis is comparatively small,
and in its form exhibits no unusual sexual difference, being alike broad
in both sexes; and the pelvic bones are thin and slender. The hair
which thickly clothes the body is short, closely pressed against the
skin, more or less soft and woolly, and extensively used in the manu-
facture of articles of wear, although greatly deficient in quality to the
under-fur which distinguishes the Fur Seal of commerce.

Genus Moracuvs,’ Fleming.
Synonyms—Pelagios; F. Cuvier, Gray.
Pelagius, ¥. Cuvier, Fischer, Nilsson.
Incisors $3, canines j4, molars = — 82.
Upper incisors indented transversely at their edge, so that the lower

ones, when the mouth is closed, fill up these indentations. Molars
crowded, obtusely pointed, slightly lobed; anterior one of each jaw

1¥From odxn, phoca, a seal.
2 A monk.
3 That lives in the sea.

33

with a single root, the others with two roots; claws of fore feet rather
flat, of hinder ones conical, very small; whiskers stiff, short, smooth ;
muzzle with a slight central groove. The crests of the skull, and the
expansion of the shoulder-blade, are more strongly developed in this
genus than in the following ones.

Mowacuus' atprventzr,’ Boddaert. Monk Seal.

Synonyms—Phogue a ventre blanc, Buffon, Cuvier.
Phoca monachus, Herm, Desmarest:
Pelagios’ monachus, F. Cuvier, Blainville, Owen.
Pelagius’ monachus, Nilsson, Gray.
Phoca albiventer,> Boddaert.
Mediterranean Seal, Shaw.
Monachus albiventer, Gray, B. M. C. 1866, p. 19.

The well-known sub-tropical Seal has been long considered as the
only representative of the genus, and I believe it is still so regarded by
the generality of writers on the animals of this order; although
Dr. Gray, in the Catalogue and Supplement, so continually referred to,
has introduced another, a tropical species,’ from the distinctive
characters afforded by an imperfect skin, which the British Museum
received from Jamaica. It is to be understood, however, that the
foregoing generic characteristics are derived from the Monk, or White-
bellied Seal of the Mediterranean. Inhabits both shores of and the
islands in the Mediterranean, and said occasionally to be found at
Madeira and the Canaries.

Fully-grown adults are from 10 to 12 feet in length. Monk Seals
have upon several occasions been partially domesticated, and thus
opportunities have been given for ascertaining many of their ways and
disposition. One, a few years ago, was exhibited in London as the
“Talking Fish”; at the word of command, it would utter various
sounds, from a bark to the hoarse bellow of a bull, would offer its lips
to be kissed, and perform within its tub many pleasing feats of agility.

Buffon, F. Cuvier, and other eminent men, have at different times
availed themselves of similar chances for observation, and fortunately
have recorded minutely their experience. The former naturalist, in
describing a male taken in the Adriatic, remarks: “‘ The white-bellied
Seal we saw in December, 1778. Its aspect is mild, and its disposition
not fierce ; its eyes are quick and intelligent, or, at all events, they ex-
press the sentiments of affection and attachment to its master, whom it
obeys with the utmost readiness. At his order we have seen it lay
down its head, turn in various directions, roll round and round, raise
the fore-parts of its body quite erect in its trough, and shake hands

1A monk.

3 That lives in the sea.

3 Albus, white, and venter belly.

4B. M. C. Seals and Whales, 1866, p. 20. Monachus tropicalis.

D

34

with him. Previous to being tamed, it bit its master furiously when
interfered with, but when subdued, it became quite mild, so that it
could be handled with all freedom. You might thrust the hand into its
mouth, and rest your head on that of the Seal. When its master called,
it answered, however distant it might be ; it looked round for him when
it did not see him, and on discovering him after an absence of a few
minutes, never failed to testify joy by a loud murmur. Some of its
accents were sweet and expressive, and seemed the language of pleasure
and delight.

“The period between its several inspirations was very long, and in the
interval the nostrils were accurately closed, during which time they
appeared like two longitudinal slits on the end of the snout. The
creature opened them to make a strong expiration, which was immedi-
ately followed by an inspiration, after which it closed them as before;
and often allowed two minutes to intervene without taking another
breath. The breathing was accompanied with a loud snuffling noise.
When drowsy, it did not promptly attend to its master, and it was only
by putting food under its very nose that it could be excited to its
accustomed energy and vivacity. It then raised its head and the upper
ee of its body, supporting itself on its fore-paws, to the height of the

and which held the fish; for it was scarcely satisfied with any other
aliment, having a preference for carp, and still more for eels; these,
though raw, were seasoned to its taste by rolling them in salt. It re-
quired about 30 ibs. of these live fish every day; it greedily swallowed
the eels entire, and even the carp which were first offered it, but, after
devouring two or three entire, it subjected them to some preparation
by crushing their heads with its teeth, then partially gutting them, and
concluded by gulping them head-foremost. This individual was 7} feet
long ; its skin was covered with a short, smooth, shining hair of a brown
colour, mixed with grey principally upon the neck and head, where it
was spotted ; the fur was thicker on the back and side than on the
belly, where there was a large white marking, which mounted up upon
the flanks. The nostrils were neither inclined nor were they placed as
in terrestrial quadrupeds, but extended vertically on the extremity of
et snout. The eyes were large, full, of a brown colour, and like those
of an ox.”

M. F. Cuvier furnishes in 1813 a detailed description of a female
Seal which was captured in 1811; from which memoir the following
short extracts are taken. “ For two years it has been kept in a trough,
which scarcely exceeds its own dimensions, being only one foot longer,
and two feet broader than itself. It every day receives several pounds
of fresh-water fish, and usually spends nine or ten consecutive hours
in water ten inches deep. At the close of the day the water is
removed, that the animal may be dry during the night, and, in spite of
this artificial mode of life, it enjoys excellent health.

“ The length of this animal is between seven and eight feet, and the
general form is very like that of the common Seal. Its colour in the

35

water is black on the head, back, tail, and upper part of the feet,
whilst the chest, sides, and belly, and the under portion of the neck,
tail, paws, and sides of the head, are of a yellowish light grey. When
it is dry, the black portions are not so deeply coloured, and the white
parts are more yellow. The skin is everywhere of a slaty colour. The
tail is three inches long, and without movement; the eyes are large,
and the cornea is very flat in comparison with other quadrupeds ; two
hairs, similar to those of the lip, are seen above each eye; the pupil
exactly resembles that of the domestic cat; the nostrils are naturally
closed, and open only at the will of the animal; the ear has no trace
of an external auricle; the orifice of the auditory canal is situated
nearly opposite the tympanum. It sleeps during the live-long night,
and cannot be kept awake during the day without the most unceasing
perseverance. During sleep it is often observed covered with the water
at the bottom of its trough, where of course it cannot breathe, and
there it continues for an hour at a time.”

The habits of the animals of this species in a state of nature are
similar to those of the crested Seals.

Genus PxHoca, Linnzus.
. 3-3 . 1-1 5-5
Incisors 33, canines;;, molars 73 — 84.

Incisor small, pointed ; molars, placed in an oblique position along
the jaws, moderately large-lobed, somewhat crowded ; anterior one of
each jaw with a single root, all the others double-rooted; teeth of
moderate size ; whiskers small, waved; muzzle with a distinct central
groove ; fingers gradually shortening from the first to the inner one,
the Leporine Seal excepted ; toes, inner and outer ones large, long, the
middle ones shorter ; claws large, conical, sharp ; habits similar to the
preceding genus.

Puoca virtua,’ Linneus. Common Seal.

Synonyms— Callocephalus' vitulinus.’-—F¥F. Cuvier, Gray, B.M.C., p. 20.
Common Seal, Pennant.
Phoque commune, Buffon.
Sea-Oalf, or Sea-Dog of Sailors.
Meerhund, Zeehund, Seelhund, of the Germans, Dutch,
and Danes.

The Common Seal furnishes another example to those previously
given of the wide geographic range enjoyed by many animals of the
same species. By means of well authenticated specimens, it is ascer-
tained to inhabit nearly every coast washed by the cold waters of the
Northern Seas, and it is moreover found in the salt sea of the isolated
Caspian, and, far distant from the ocean, in the fresh waters of the

1 xaads, beautiful, and xepaah, the head.
2 Vitulinus, calf-like.

36

Lake Baikal; that is to say, in general terme, from Greenland eastward
into Hastern Siberia. This nearly circumpolar belt of occupation 1s
fully as extensive and infinitively more difficult to comprehend than the
extensive habitat I attribute to the Arctocephalus Falklandicus, and
would afford more reasonable grounds to the supporters of the theory
of limited location,! for the separation into species, if not into genera,
of the several examples of this familiar animal.

The colour of the Common Seal, is on the upper portion of the body,
yellowish-brown of various shades, but commonly dark, and frequently
mottled, or spotted over with darker: beneath much paler, yellowish-
white. The usual length is from four to six feet, but an aged male will
exceed these dimensions, and it has been known to weigh two hundred
and twenty-four pounds.

Inhabits Greenland, the North Sea, the Baltic, the Caspian Sea, and
Lake Baikal. It is still found in considerable numbers on the English,
Scottish, and Irish Coasts. 2

To describe all of the ascertained habits of this seal in the state of
nature, or when semi-domesticated, would amount in many instances
simply to the repetition of anecdotes already given of other members
of the family ; but I will offer a few additional descriptive extracts of
manners and disposition, which, although derived exclusively from this
species, will tend materially towards perfecting our knowledge of a
group so wonderfully similar in every important feature of organization.

Professor Trail relates that, “A young seal, about two and a half
feet long, would suck one’s fingers readily, was greedily fondof milk, and
seemed a social animal. When thrown into the sea, it speedily returned
to the shore, and made back for its favourite position, the kitchen hearth,
the stone of which was elevated about four inches above the floor, and
it generally laid itself so close to the embers of a peat fire burning
there, that it often singed its fur.”’? ‘One in particular became so
tame that he lay along the fire among the dogs, bathed in the sea, and
returned to the house: but having found his way to the byres’, used
to steal there and suck the cows; on this account he was discharged and
sent to his native element.’ “During a residence of some years in
one of the Hebrides, I had many opportunities of witnessing this
peculiarity (partiality for musical and other sounds), and, in fact, could
call forth its manifestation at pleasure. In walking along the shore in
the calm of a summer afternoon, a few notes of my flute would bring
half a score of them within thirty or forty yards of me, and there they
would swim about, with their heads above water, like so many black
dogs, evidently delighted with the sounds. For half-an-hour, or indeed,
for any length of time I chose, I could fix them to the spot ; and when

1 “We now know that the species (Otariadw) have a very limited geographical
distribution.” Gray. Suppl. 1871, 8. & W. p. 7.

? Naturalist’s Library, p. 134,

+ Byre, Scotch, a cow-house.

4 Mr. L. Edmonstone.

37

I moved along the water’s edge, they would follow me with eagerness,
like the dolphins who, it is said, attended Arion, as if anxious to pro-
long their enjoyment. I have frequently witnessed the same effect
when out on a boat excursion. The sound of a flute, or of a common
fife, blown by one of the boatmen, was no sooner heard, than half-a-
dozen would start up within a few yards, whirling round us as long as the
music played, and disappearing one after another when it ceased.'”’
“The church of Hoy, in Orkney, is situated in a small sandy bay,
much frequented by these creatures; and I observed, when the bell
rang for divine service, all the seals within hearing swam directly to
the shore, and kept looking about them, as if surprised, rather than
frightened, and in this manner continued to wonder as long as the bell
rang.” “Whilst I and my pupils,’ says Mr. Dunbar, “ were bathing,
as was our custom, in the bosom of a beautiful bay, named Seal Bay,
in Orkney, numbers of these creatures invariably made their appearance,
especially if the weather was calm and sunny, and the sea smooth,
crowding us-at the distance of a few yards, and looking as if they had
some kind of notion that we were of the same species, or at least, genus,
with themselves.

“The gambols in the water of my playful companions, and their noise
and merriment, seemed to our imagination to excite the seals, and to
make them course around us with greater rapidity and animation. At
the same time, the slightest attempt on our part to act on the offensive,
by throwing at them a stone or shell, was the signal for their instan-
taneous disappearance ; each, as it vanished, leaving the surface of the
waters beautifully figured with a wavy succession of concentriccircles.”

Puoca Freripa’, Miller. The Ringed Seal.
Synonyms—Phoca fetida’, Miller.

Phoca hispida’, Erxleben—O. Fabricius.

Phoca fasciata*, Shaw.

Phoca annellata®’, Nilsson.

Callocephalus hispidus’, F. Cuvier.

Pagomys fetidus *, Gray, B. M.C., 8S. and W. 1866, p. 23.

Inhabits Greenland—North Sea—Lake Baikal.

This species is about the size and build of the preceding one, but is
readily distinguished by the marbled disposition of the colouring of the
hair on the upper portions of the body, which appearance is caused by
numerous whitish ovate ocellated spots, about twoinches long, distributed
over a brown ground colour, darkest along the back, and paling beneath
to nearly white. The young are of a darker hue, and their skins are
not relieved by the annular spots.

1 Mr. Lizaro.

2? Fetidus, stinking, rank.

3 Hispidus, rough, shaggy.

4 Fasciatus, banded.

5 Annellatus, with little rings.

38

Old males are said to acquire a disgusting smell, from which un-
enviable circumstance the Latin specific name has been derived.

Proca Grenianpica', Miller. The Harp Seal.

Synonyms—Phoca Grenlandica, Miller. O. Fabricius. :
Phoca oceanica’, Lepechin Fischer. Jardine’s Nat. Lib.
Oallocephalus greenlandicus. ¥. Cuvier.

Pagophilus greenlandicus. Gray, B. M. C. 1866, p. 25.
Harp-Seal, Pennant, Bell, Hamilton.

Inhabits Greenland, North Sea.

“ Until six or seven weeks old, white, called white coats at Newfound-
land ; at one year old they have small spots; at two years old they
have large spots, and the males are called Lampiers; at three years
old the males and females have the harp-shdped band, and are then
called saddle-backs.’”

The fur of the adult is greyish-white, the back being marked by a
blackish horse-shoe-shaped band, arching backwards from the #houlder
to within a few inches of the tail, This band is broad at the sides, while
its outline is very irregular ; the anterior half of the head exhibits the
same deep brownish-black colour of the band.

The Harp Seal is very abundant in the deep bays and moutha of
rivers along the coast of Greenland, living among the floating masses of
ice, and preying principally upon the Arctic salmon and other fish—and
occasionally upon molluscs. In size and general make it resembles the
two preceding animals, but its fur and oil are alleged to be of better '
quality than theirs.

Puoca BaRrBata,’ O. Fabricius. The Leporine Seal.°

Synonyms—Phoca barbata, O. Fabricius ; Miller, Nilsson, Fischer, &e.
Phoca leporina, Lepechin.
Oallocephalus leporinus, F. Cuvier.
Phoca barbata, Gray, B. M. C., 1866, p. 31.
Leporine Seal, Pennant.

This Seal and the following one are frequently mistaken for each
other, for they bear a general external resemblance, are similar in size,
being by far the largest of the species which I have attached to this
family, and both are found on the British and Irish Coasts. Their
structural characters and habits, however, vary so much as to render |
them palpably distinct.

The ordinary length of the adult animal may be taken at about nine
feet, but the aged will reach to twelve feet, or even more. In colour,

1 Greenland.

2 Oceanic.

3 Jukes, Newfoundland.

+ Bearded.

®° Hare-like. This species is likewise known as the Great Seal, the Great Bearded
Seal, the Hare-like Seal.

39

the male is brownish-black, fading into yellowish on the abdominal
parts ; the young are much lighter in hue, which assumes a greenish
cast. a females are similarly coloured, but the underneath portion
is greyish.

This species differs from the preceding ones, in having the central
finger the longest, and the outer and inner ones the shortest. .

Inhabits the Northern Seas, and occasionally found on the Scottish
and Northern Coasts of England.

Genus Haticuarvs,' Nilsson.
Incisors $3, canines 14, molars, $3 = 84.

Canines moderate in size ; molars conical ; upper ones simple ; lower
ones slightly lobed ; the two posterior ones on each side of the upper
jaw, and the posterior one of the lower, are double-rooted ; the remain-
ing ones with single roots: head very flat; bones of the face strongly
developed: brain comparatively very small; muzzle simple, broad,
rounded} truncated ; whiskers notched at their edges; claws conical,
elongated, sharp.

Habits very moderately gregarious ; scarcely susceptible of domesti-
cation.

Haticuervs' erypus, O. Fabricius. The Grey Seal.
Synonyms—Phoca grypus, O. Fabricius.
Halicherus grypus, Nilsson, Gray, B. M. C., 1866, p. 84.
Grey Seal, Bell, Brit : Quad.

Dr. Ball, of Dublin, in his excellent account of the habits of the Grey
Seal, remarks that its colour varies so much from sex, age, season, &.,
that it cannot be regarded of value as a specific character ; which
observation, as I have before pointed out, is equally applicable to many
species other than the animal he is describing. It is, however, readily
distinguished by the more permanent characters of a straight profile,
fierce aspect, and greater proportionate length of body to the rotundity.

In its habits it is usually solitary, associating only in small parties,
and in its disposition devoid of that intelligence and mildness so
strikingly conspicuous in others of its kind.

“My father,” writes Dr. Ball, “has made several attempts to rear
and tame this seal, but in vain. It appears scarcely susceptible of
domestication, and the development of the skull seems to indicate as
much ; for the size of the brain of a specimen nearly eight feet long
did not exceed that of one of the common seal (Ph. vitulina) of less
than four.” To which convincing fact, Mr. Bell, in the 1st volume
of his “British Quadrupeds,” adds, “ It is impossible not to be forcibly
struck with the contrast between the cerebral development of this
genus and that of the former, and the relation between the difference

1 &As, the sea, xoipos, hog or pig.
% ypumés, having the beak hooked.

40

of structure and their susceptibility of domestication. It is exactly
analogous to the distinction between the crania of baboons and those of
the higher groups of quadrumanous animals.” : } :

In colour the very young female is of a dull yellowish-white, which
in a month or six weeks becomes variously blotched with grey; as the
animal advances in age, these blotches almost disappear on the upper
part of the body, but they remain very distinct on the lower part and
on the breast. Froma peculiarity in the hair of the adult, it being con-
siderably recurved, and as if its upper surface were scraped flat with a
knife, the animal, when dry, and with its head turned towards the
spectator, appears of a uniform silver grey, whilst viewed in the opposite
direction it appears altogether of a sooty brown colour, the spots or
blotches being only visible on a side view. The young male has long
yellowish hair, slightly tinged with brownish-black along the back.

The grey seal will sometimes attain a length of twelve feet, and a
weight of 650 lbs., but such large specimens are seldom encountered.
Nilsson states that in the Baltic it is a solitary animal, but on the
coasts of Ireland, where it is still numerous, and on those of Scotland,
this species is unquestionably gregarious, associating in small families of
from ten to fourteen members.

Genus StENORHYNcHUS,’ F. Cuvier.
Tncisors iy canine, i, molars, oe == 32,

Incisors conical, the outer upper ones large, resembling canines, one
species excepted; molars distinctly trilobate ; anterior one in each
ramus single-rooted; the others with two roots; muzzle simple, hairy
between and above the nostrils ; whiskers small, wavy, tapering ; claws
of fore feet small, of hind feet obsolete, or nearly so.

STENORHYNCHUS' LEPTONYX,’ Blainville. The Sea Leopard.

Synonyms—Phoca leptonyz, Blainville.
Stenorhynchus leptonyx, ¥. Cuvier; Gray, B. M. C. 1866,
p. 16.
The small-nailed Seal (?), Jardine, Nat. Libry., p. 180,

pl. 11.
The Leopard Seal (?), Jardine, Nat. Libr., p. 183, pl. 12.

There are two stuffed specimens of this species in the Australian
Museum; one, recently obtained, is admirably set up, the various
admeasurements being taken from the animal when living, the other
but indifferently. These afford another example to the many, that
colour, and variations of marking, when considered alone, are but
unreliable evidence in distinguishing species, for on these points they
differ considerably. Their skulls, however, allowing for those minor

1 orevds, narrow, and fuyxos, the beak.
? rxewrds, slender, and évvé, the nail.

41

deviations commonly attendant upon age, and individual peculiarities,
are too alike in their general structure to permit of any doubt as to
their specific identity.

Another perfect skull from Lyttleton, New Zealand, presented to
this institution by Dr. Schutte, and a water-colour drawing, by Mr.
Angas, of a sea leopard captured at Newcastle, exhibit further slight
differences in the dentition or in the external colouring of the hair, yet
they and the two before-mentioned animals are unquestionably of the
one and the same species.

I have been partly led to offer these observations, because the
colouration and general outline of the sea leopard (Phoca leopardina)
figured in Plate 12 of Jardine’s Naturalist’s Library resemble those of
the aged male in our Museum; while the small-nailed seal (Phoca lep-
tonyx) represented in Plate 11, approaches more in its colour to the
young adult female recently taken in our harbour.

The three skulls alluded to are those of a very aged male from
Shoalhaven, an adult female from Port Jackson, and an adult animal
from New Zealand. These present the elongate form of the face, the
mandible, “strong with an acute angle behind,” and the marked tricuspid
form of the molars ; but they differ, irrespective of size, in the follow-
ing particulars :—

The occipital and sagittal crests of the aged male were comparatively
greatly developed ; the foramen magnum was actually smaller than in
the other specimens, the aperture having become lessened apparently by
the ossification of its upper portion; and the molars were set rather
widely apart.

The New Zealand and Port Jackson specimens, theformer especially,’
had the two middle lower incisors and their sockets considerably
within the outer ones; so that with the jaws closed they were com-
pletely over-lapped by the upper cutting teeth (the Shoalhaven animal
did not possess this peculiarity); their molars also, were close together,
almost crowded.

The old male measures twelve feet in length, and the skin presents
a glossy, flecked appearance, of which the prevailing colours are light
silvery grey, and very pale yellowish-white, arranged into numerous
largish, longitudinal patches, occasionally brought into greater relief
by a black-grey shading along their edges ; the upper part of the body
being darker, and the abdominal portions lighter than the sides.

The young adult female is in length seven feet two inches anda
quarter, the upper half is darkish grey, becoming almost black along
the dorsal line, and intermixed throughout with numerous narrow
markings of darker hue, and of dull yellowish-white; under part,
nearly unspotted, is of a dull dirty yellowish-white. These two colours
do not blend at their junction, but, remaining distinct, pass from the
tail, somewhat over the flippers, and immediately under the eyes and
nostrils, to the end of the muzzle.

1 Dr. Knox, of New Zealand, calls attention to this peculiarity.

42,

The flippers, mostly the hinder, are anteriorly bordered by irregular
black-grey markings, disposed transversely.

The Newcastle specimen, according to Mr. Angas, is seven feet ten
inches in length, and in colouring faintly resembles the foregoing, but
the neck and sides contain many distinct oblong black spots.

To these observations I may add that the specimen taken on the
beach at Double Bay, within the harbour of Port Jackson, and which
was kept alive for several days, on the grounds of the Museum, had the
muzzle lengthened; the neck comparatively thin and long; and the
girth of the body largest at the fore-flippers, which were placed some-
what in advance of half the entire length of the stretched out animal.

This species of Seal is by no means an infrequent visitor of the
coasts of New South Wales and of New Zealand, but evidently only as
a wanderer driven by untoward circumstances far away from home.
No important details are recorded of its habits, further than that it is a
resident of the colder portions of the Southern Seas, and that its
capture is not carried on as an object of commercial enterprise.

Dr. George Bennett and Dr. Knox, however, give a few interesting
particulars of the diet of this creature, when forced as an outcast to
seek an existence on foreign feeding-grounds. The former, in his
“Gatherings ot a Naturalist in Australasia,” p. 167, says, in allusion
to the large malo before described, that “it was killed in the fresh
water of Shoalhaven River, in August, 1859, several miles above the
influence of the salt water, and when opened had an entire water-mole in
its stomach, minus the head.” The latter observes of a New Zealand
specimen, that “the stomach contained numerous fish-bones, a few
feathers (gulls’), and some considerable portions of a pale-green broad-
leaved marine fucus.”

SrENORHYNCHYS WeEDDELLII, Lesson. False Sea Leopard of Gray.

Synonyms—Leptonyx Weddellit, Gray. B.M.C., 1866, p 12.
Leopard Seal (?) Jardine’s Nat. Libr,, p. 193, pl. 12.
Small-nailed Seal (?) _,, 5 p. 180, pl. 11.

I derive the following extracts of the description of this species (the
only one of Dr. Gray’s genus leptonyx) from the British Museum Cata-
logue; putting the more salient points of distinction between it and
Stenorhynchus leptonyx into italics, for the guidance of the student.
“Lower jaw weak, with an obtuse angle behind ; orbits very large” ; head
flattened ; muzzle broad, rather short, rounded; muzzle hairy between
and to the edge of the nostrils ; nostrils ovate; whirkers compressed,
slightly waved; ears, no external conch; skull slightly depressed,
expanded behind; nose rather short, broad, high above ; orbits, rather
large; the petrose portion of the temporal bone convex, hemis-
pherical. Lower jaw slender, with a short symphysis in front, and
narrow, without any angle at the hinder part of the lower edge. The skull
of this gonus Leptonyr resembles in many respects Cuvier’s figure of a

43

skull of Phoca-bicolor; but it differs from it in all the grinders being
placed more longitudinally, and in the lower jaw being slender, and
without any angle on the hinder part of the lower edge.”

“ Colour fulvous, with the front of the back and a line down the back
blackish-grey ; whiskers brown, tapering. Female and young blackish-
grey above ; sides with a series of longitudinal yellowish spots.”

It will be seen that the external appearance of this seal resembles in
part one or the other of the specimens I have just previously described,
but the skulls in the Museum here all possess the lower jaw strong,
with an acute angle behind, and the orbits moderate. The animal, which
presenta the marked characteristic of a weak and slender mandible,
without any angle behind, implying a change in habit and in the nature
of the food, must necessarily indicate a distinct species.

Inhabits South Orkney, Antarctic Ocean.

STENORHYNCHUS CaRcrNoPHAGA,' Homb. and Jacq. Crab-eating Seal.

Synonyms—Lobodon carcinophaga, Gray, B.M.C., 1866, p. 10.
Stenorhynchus serridens, Owen.
Halicherus antarcticus, Peale.

This is a well defined species, distinguished from others of the genus
by many properties, but principally by the altered form of the dentition :
the first, second, and third molars of each ramus of the upper jaw, and
the first one on each side of the lower jaw, are single-rooted—all the
rest have two roots. The molars are compressed, and with swollen
roots, the middle one with a large lobe in front and three lobes behind.

The symphysis of the mandible is said to be very long. Inhabits the
Antartic Ocean. ;

“The head, back, hind feet, and upper part of the tail, pale olive;
fore feet, side of the face, body, and tail beneath, yellowish-white ; the
hinder part of the sides of the body, and the base of the hind fins,
yellow spotted, spots unequal often confluent.”

Stenoruyxcuus Rossti, Gray. Ross’s large-eyed Seal.
Synonym—Ommatophoca Rossii, Gray, B.M.C., 1866, p. 14.

Another distinct kind.

Teeth throughout unusually small: “molars compressed, with a sub-
central, rather large, broad, slightly incurved lobe, having a very small
lobe on the inner side of its front, and a larger conical one in the
middle of its hinder edge. Head short, broad; ears small, with no
external conch ; muzzle very short, rounded ; skull depressed, expanded
behind ; orbits very large; nose very short, broad, truncated in front,
high, behind.” ;

“Tn colour greenish-yellow, with close oblique yellow stripes on the
side, and pale beneath.” Gray.

1 xapkivos, a crab, and gaya, I eat.

44,

OrpER 8. DEINOTHERIA.’

Derxoturrivm,' Toxopor.?

Teeth of two kinds only, the canines being absent; bones dense;
occipital region depressed, sloping from the condyles upwards and
forwards ; nasal aperture large, placed high up the skull; nasal bones
short and salient ; occipital condyles in the same line of direction with
the longitudinal axis of the skull,

Family I. DEINOTHERIOIDS.
Genus DEINOTHERIUM,’ Kaup.

A cranium nearly perfect, and of about four feet in length, was dis.
covered near Eppelsheim, in 1836, by M. Klipstein, in a sandstone
deposit of the Meiocene period,—a period, I may observe, prolific in
yielding peculiarly interesting fossil remains of species either wholly
extinct or entirely superseded by new types, or of those still extant,
but which seem to have now first sprung into existence,—such, for
example, are the Deinotherium, the Mastodon, the Zeuglodon, and the
Deer tribe of the present day.

It is from the structure of this remarkable skull that the following
characters, descriptive of the family and probable habits of the animals
when living, are arrived at; but until other portions of the skeleton
are exhumed, the external form and the exact position of the Deinothe-
ricide must remain a matter of simple conjecture.

Incisors 9’, canines *°, molars #% = 22?

The extremity of the upper jaw being mutilated, the presence or
absence of the superior incisive teeth cannot be defined. The inferior
incisors, however, are well preserved and highly characteristic; they
are two in number, in close contiguity with each other, very large,
tusk-like in form, with the ivory disposed in concentric strie and
embedded in enormous sockets. These, the tusks and sockets, bend
abruptly downwards, almost vertically, maintaining, however, a gentle
backward curve throughout. In the male the tusks are said to be two
feet long, while those of the females are only about half that length.
The molars are of comparative moderate size, and have their upper
surfaces divided by two transverse ridges, excepting the middle one of
each ramus and the first of the lower jaw ; the former possessing three,
and the latter only one, of these transverse ridges.

1 Sewds awful, and @nplov beast.
% rétov a bow, and ddous a tooth.

45

Of the skull the texture of the bones is dense; the occipital portion
much flattened, with the hinder part inclined from before backwards ;
the nasal aperture large, and placed high up; the nasal bones short
and salient; and the occipital condyles in the same line of direction
with the longitudinal axis of the skull.

Such features are in themselves highly expressive of an aquatic
existence, but they bear an additional value, not only confirmatory of
the mode of life, but as suggestive of the structure of the body, from
the marked resemblance presented by these several distinctive qualities
to the similar ones seen in the skulls of the strictly aquatic animals,
the Manatee and the Dugong; setting aside from the comparison the
huge tusks and the lengthened sockets, to which singularities, although
perfectly unique in their entirety, the Dugong affords a faint approach
in the downward curve of the deflected symphysis of the mandible.

The natural inference, therefore, to be drawn from the cranial linea-
ments, by the absence of the canines, and by the form of the molar
teeth, exhibited by this relic, would be—that the living Deinotherium
giganteum partook the herbivorous habits of, and greatly resembled in
general form, the members of the existing Sirenoid family.

Should this surmise, which I believe originated with de Blainville,
be correct, this huge animal would possess a large, full, fleshy, trunk-
less muzzle, adapted for browsing in shallow waters over beds of
fluviatile or marine vegetation; nostrils advantageously placed at the
end of the muzzle; and pinuated limbs, principally or wholly suited
for progression in water.

The large massive skull, and the great weight of the incisors pro-
truding from its extremity, are commonly urged as qualities materially
affecting the probable terrestrial existence of the owner; but I think
that such an argument is of but little value to come to any correct
conclusion as to the economy of this extinct animal; for it is obvious
that a frame-work fully equal to its requirements, and yet of no
unusually stupendous dimensions, would render these apparent obstacles
no more “cumbersome” or “inconvenient” to the quadruped on dry
land, than the huge and weighty tusks' of the extinct Mammoth, which
are supported with ease, or the vast expanding horns’ of the fossil Elk
of Ireland, borne with such graceful dignity.

Neither can I contemplate with the least satisfaction the form of the
gigantic Deinotherium, as originally restored by M. Kaup; that is, an
animal bearing an external resemblance to the tapir-like great Paleo-
therium, but with the lengthened proboscis of an elephant, the limbs of
a rhinoceros, and feet terminated by the long hoof-like claws of a pan-
golin: truly a hetereogeneous compound, at variance with the signi-
ficant characters displayed by the skull, and with the harmonious

1 Hach tusk 9 feet long, and weight of both 360 lbs.
2 From tip to tip 12 feet.

46

organizations of animal bodies, where, for example, “the feet accord
with the characters announced by the teeth; the teeth are in harmony
with those indicated previously by the feet.”

The immensity.of organic fossil deposits, mostly fragmentary, many
of wondrous shapes and generally of unallied kinds, promiscuously
mingled, presents to the comparative anatomist a vast and too frequently
a seductive field for imaginative speculation; and the fertile and heated
brain, armed with such materials, is led to fabricate monsters as
anomalous in their structural characters as those of heathen creations,
or of the Middle Ages, and accepted as truthful by the credulous with
an implicit belief.

So the pictorial illustration, acknowledged by the author himself to
have been founded on error, still remains in works on Natural History,
the stereotyped torm of the Deinotherium giganteum.

Computing from this standard, the length of the animal is estimated
at about 18 feet; but this magnitude would be greatly exceeded should
it hereafter be ascertained that thie singular being was truly aquatic
in its habits.

Dr. Buckland suggests that the large incisive tusks served. probably
for tearing up and raking together the strong-rooted plants which grew
in fresh-water rivers and lakes, and which probably constituted the diet
of this pachyderm ; for mooring purposes during repose; for dragging
the immense carcass along the bed of tbe river or up its banks ; and for
weapons of offence and defence: in short, precisely similar in their uses
to the effective upper canines of the Walrus.

Other fragmentary relics of the genus have been discovered in various
parts of Europe and Asia, but their specific determination is still
involved in considerable obscurity. The following list of species is
ue a best I can offer, although by no means so perfect as could be

esired.

1. DetvorHERIUM GiaanTEUM, Kaup.
Syn.—ZLapir gigantesque, Cuvier.
Deinotherium maximum, Kaup.
5 medium, Kaup.
2. DervotHerium Cuvieri, Kaup.
Syn.—Deinotherium bavaricum, de Meyer.
- secundarius, Kaup.
‘5 Konigui, Kaup.
3. DEINOTHERIUM MuNUTUM, de Meyer.
4, DEINOTHERIUM PROAVUM, Eichwald.

Syn.— Tapirus proavus, Hichwald.
Mastodon podolicus, Kichwald.

5. DErNoTHERIUM UpIcUM, Cantley and Falconer.

AT

Family IT. TOXODONTIDS.'

Genus Toxopon,’ Owen.

" The characters which distinguish this genus of Professor Owen have

been derived by that naturalist from an imperfect skull, a few

fragments of the lower jaw, and some teeth, discovered by Mr. Darwin,

on the banks of the Sarandis, a small stream near Rio Negro, in South

America. These distinctive qualities are principally as follows :—
Incisors %, canine $4, molars 1} = 38.

The incisors have cutting edges, and are rootless, but supplied with
persistent pulps ; of the upper ones, the two central are very small;
the two external, very large and curved ; the lower incisors have, on the
contrary, the two middle large, with the others gradually diminishing
in size. The molars, separated from the incisors by a wide interval, are
rootless, curved (whence the generic name), and with an irregular
central pillar of ivory, incased in a layer of enamel, which wearing
unequally, give their surfaces an increased power of mastication.

The skull is massive and elongated; the occipital region much
depressed, and sloping downwards towards the condyles; the occipital
condyles in the same line of direction with the longitudinal axis of the
skull; the nasal aperture large, and placed high up; the nasal bones
short and salient ; and the cheek bones of great size and strength.

This animal, therefore—for there is only one species, the Toxodon
platensis, Owen, whose remains are sufficiently known to represent the
genus—assimimilates in many points to the animals of various other
but distinct groups which exist at the present time.

To speculate even in a.summary manner upon these counterpart
characters is instructive, and may possibly intimate, by accepting the

reponderating evidences, so adduced, the true nature of the form and
fects of a singular animal, known but by a few imperfect relics.

It is said to resemble some of the extinct gigantic sloth-like
quadrupeds, by the rootless and pulp-bearing molars, and by their
massive construction ; but the presence of ten distinct incisors alone
forbids the idea that any further affinity existed between it and the
leaf-eating edentates, sufficient to justify the presumption that the
limbs were furnished at their extremities with long subungulated claws.

In a somewhat greater degree it approaches the rodentia,—the form
and composition of the cutting teeth, continually nourished by a pulpy
substance, and the absence of canines, supplying the resemblance ; but
the increased number of incisors, in direct variance with the typical
character of the rodent, and the structural dissimilarity of the skull,
lead to no inference that the feet were unguiculated to a similar extent,
or that the general form was that of any one of the “ gnawers.”

1 rétov @ bow, and d5obs a tooth.

48

Again, the number and peculiar disposition of the incisors, and the
number and heavy make of the molars, point to a still nearer alliance
with the Rhinoceros, and possibly with the water-loving anoplo-
therioids, whose canines are wanting, or are small and indistinct, and
whose toes are protected by hoofs. :

But the flattened crown of the head; the position of the breathing
aperture, and that of the articulating process of the skull to the neck
vertebre, tend strongly to the conviction that the Toxodon, although
from the presence of large frontal sinuses, was probably not so strictly
aquatic as the Deinotherium’, was nevertheless highly so, and nearly
related to it, and to the Sirenioids; if so, the continual recurrence to
the waters of the deep for subsistance would necessitate, as in the Seals,
the use of fin-shaped limbs.

The skull in question measures about 2 feet 4 inches in length by
1 foot 4 inches in breadth, and about equals that of the Hippopotamus.

ToxODON ANGUSTIDENS, Owen.

Professor Owen regards the relics found at Buenos Ayres as consti-
tuting a distinct species, the animal of which would be but little inferior
in size to the preceding.

Toxopon parayensis, D’Orbigny.

Is too much involved in obscurity to be considered as a reliable
species.

Orprer 9. SIRENTIA,?

Manatee, Duaone, &o., &c.

Teeth, when present, of two kinds only, incisors and molars; body
elongated, conical, whale-like, sparsely covered with hairs; neck some-
what flexible; fore limbs converted into flippers, in some slightly
unguiculated ; fingers with the normal number of joints (three) as in
the clawed mammals ; hind limbs wanting, the body being terminated
by an expanded, cartilaginous, horizontal tail; muzzle obtuse, truncated,
thickly bristled ; front of both jaws and part of the palate covered with
a hard, corneous plate, externally tuberculated in undulating rows, the
substance being composed of short, vertically placed bristles, agglu-
tinated together by a horny matter, and bearing a considerable analogy
to whalebone; nostrils separate, valvular, opening at the extremity of
the muzzle, and connected to the nasal aperture of the skull by
lengthened cartilage, and never employed as blow-holes; ears without

1 Owen, Zoology of the Voyage of the “ Beagle.”
2 Sirenia, from a supposed resemblance of the anterior part of the body, when
raised out of the water, to that of a siren, or mermaid.

49

external conches, and orifices extremely small; eyes small, provided
with nictating membrane ; mamme two, pectoral; voice reduced to a
feeble lowing ; no dorsal fin or protuberance.

Of the skeleton, the bones are of dense texture, like ivory, and not
loaded with oil; nasal aperture expanded, placed high up on the
cranium ; cheek bones massive ; occipital condyles terminal ; cervical
vertebra separate ; costo-sternal ribs cartilaginous; sternum composed
of one piece ; pelvis small, or rudimentary ; caudal regions elongated,
possessing true V-shaped bones beneath their anterior vertebra.

In habits the existing Sirenoids are gregarious, monogamous, (?)
rueeret usually frequenting shallow waters, and vegetarians in their

et. ;

The extant forms of this order are included within three well-defined
genera, of which the species of two of them reveal, in their cervical
vertebra, a marked numerical deviation from the ordinary mammalian
type, the three-toed sloth furnishing the only other exception to the
general rule. In the Sloth these joints amount to nine, while in the
present animals they number only six.

Family MANATIDA.’

(a) Genera Dentata.

Teeth various in number ; incisors large, conical, or, very small, early
deciduous ; molars at their apices flattened, transversely tuberculated ;
posterior ones double-fanged ; lips single; stomach sacculated ; intesti-
nal canal of great length; surface of skin, smooth, oily; the two
cavities of the heart at their lower ends separated from one another,
each portion terminating in a distinct point.

The construction of the bruising molar teeth, the thick hide, and
the great length and complicated nature of the intestinal canal, adapted
for the digestion of vegetable food, ally these animals to the ordinary
pachyderms, and consequently many zoologists have associated them
with that group. Other writers have been induced to consider the
affinity to approach nearer to the seals, from the bluff form of the
head, the apical termination of the nostrils, the nictating membrane
of the eye; the lengthened neck, the more perfectly formed hand, and
the density of the bones of the skeleton. Again, the peculiar nature
of the layer of blubber, which envelops the muscular flesh and is
immediately connected by cellular tissue to the external oily, almost
naked skin, the entire absence of hinder limbs, the horizontally
depressed cartilaginous extremity, the structure of the skeleton in

1 From manatus, provided with hands.
E

50

almost every essential clement, and. the strictly aquatic life, appeal too
strongly to the sense to admit of any doubt of their alliance with the
Cetacea, ,

But beyond these connecting links, this singular group evinces, by
the nature of its dentition, by the elevated position of the nasal
aperture on the skull, useless as blow-holes, by the pectoral mamme,
and by many other deviating characters, so decided and so intrinsi-
cally different to similar parts of either of the orders enumerated, that
of necessity a separation is required and a distinct locality assigned it
among the mammals.

Influenced by this necessity for distinctive position, and guided by
the greater alliance, shown in the osseous structure and in the habits
of the living animal, to the seal and the whale, than to any terrestrial
pachyderm, I have ventured to suggest that the natural allocation for
the niles Sirenia should be between those of Pinnipedia and Cetacea.

Genus Manatus, Rondelet.

1-1
0-0?

canines 2°, molars 2%, = 38.

Incisors
Ineisors very small, early deciduous; molars squarish, irregularly
flat on their apices, transversely tuberculated ; of these several of the
front ones frequently drop out, so that in the adult animal the number
of teeth occasionally amounts to twenty-four only; front limbs termi-
nated by small claws; tail rounded at its extremity; cervical vertebra
six; portion of the beak, anterior to the eye-sockets, short, advanced
directly forwards, with a very slight gradual downward bend.

Manatus Americanus, Desmarest. The Manatee.

Synonyms—Trichechus manatus. Linneus.
Manatus Americanus, Desmarest.
Manatus latirostris, Harlan.
Manatee (i.e., Fish-ox), Negroes of Jamaica.
Coju-mero (t.e., Sea-cow), Guiana.

In external appearance the Manatee is oblong, the body tapering
from the shoulders posteriorly ; the head is short, comparatively small,
terminating at the muzzle with a thick fleshy disc, in the upper portion
of which the nostrils are placed; the lps are studded compactly
with stiff bristles ; the front limbs are well developed, and possess a
comparative free motion,—one, indeed, intermediate between the Seal
and the Whale ; small, flattish nails protect the tips of the fingers ; of
the hinder limbs there is no trace; the tail is cartilaginous, horizon-
tally flattened, and rounded at its extremity. The colour of the adult
varies from grey-black to blue-black, lighter and brighter underneath ;
the length from six to ten feet, even to fifteen feet ; and the weights to

correspond to these dimensions range from eight hundred pounds to a
ton.

51

This species was at one time very abundant, delighting in the
shallow waters of quiet bays and creeks of tropical America, and luxuri-
ating ‘in the sub-aquatie herbage, but more particularly about the
mouths of the Amazons and the Orinoco, frequently ascending for
many miles, even to their tributaries and the fresh-water lakes, where
the floating leaves of water-plants supply their wants; but as the flesh,
the hide, and the oil are much esteemed, and the animals themselves
readily captured with the harpoon, the race has been greatly reduced
by the assiduous persecution of the natives.

The male and female are said to be mutually attached so fervently,
as to kill one the other becomes an easy prey, refusing to leave the fatal
spot, and to forsake its late partner.

Manartus Senecatensis, Desmarest. The Lamantin.

Synonyms—Lamantin du Sénégal, Danbenton.
Trichechus manatus Africanus, Oken.
Manatus Senegalensis, Gray. Seals and Whales, 1866,
p- 360.

The Lamantin inhabits the estuaries of the Senegal and other rivers
of the western coast of tropical Africa, and, although considered to be
distinct from the Manatee, it corresponds greatly with it in its
organism, and apparently in its economy, of which, however, we have
no sufficiently precise details.

Genus Hattcorg,’ Illiger.

Incisors o 4 @ 2%, canines 2%, molars $3 = 12, or 14.

0-0 0-0:

The upper incisors of the male are large, tusk-like, with bevelled
off cuttmg edges, and their roots provided with persistent pulp-
cavities, similar to rodents, and they project beyond their sockets
only one-eighth of their whole length. In the female these teeth,
although well developed, lie concealed, and never penetrate the gum ;
the molars during life number from twenty to twenty-four, but the
first ones shed before the last has cut the gum, and consequently the
whole are never simultaneously in use; the front limbs exhibit no
trace of nails ; the tail fin at its extremity is lunate, forked ; the cervical
vertebre are seven ; and that portion of the beak beyond the eyes, and
which receives into its cavities the large upper incisive tusks, is bent
down abruptly, almost vertically, over a long deflected mandibular
symphysis.

The animals, therefore, are easily recognized from those of the genus
Manatus, by either one of the many following characters, viz. :—the
dental formula generally, but more especially the upper incisive tusks ;
the large and long facial bones, singularly bent downwards; the de-
flected symphysis of the lower jaw; the normal number of the neck
vertebre ; the clawless, pectoral fins, and the forked extremity of the
tail.

1 Aas, the sea, and épy, a nymph.

52

Haxtcorre Dvaone, Iliger. The Dugong.

Synonyms—Trichechus Dugong, Gmelin, Pucheran, &c.
Indian Walrus, Pennant.
Dugong, Raffles, Home, Knox, &c.
Halicore Dugong, Gray, 8. & W., 1866, p. 361.
Sea-pig of Moreton Bay, Captain Sidney. .
Yangan, or Fung-un, Natives of North Australia.

The Dugong may be considered to be a tropical animal, although it
is frequently seen in the waters of Moreton Bay, which would place it
slightly without the verge of this prescribed limit. Its natural home,
however, is in that extensive area embraced within both tropics, from
the eastern coasts of Africa to those of Queensland. This vast range
includes the Mauritius, Ceylon, the Bay of Bengal, the islands of the
Indian Archipelago, and the northern coasts of New Holland, from the
Barrow Reefs on the west round to Moreton Bay on the east.

But in these localities, it is only the shallow waters of unruffied
inlets and creeks, the sheltered mouths of rivers, the bays and the
straits between proximate islands, that afford the necessary quiet, and
the abundant submersed marine aliment essential for a permanent
residence. In such resorts the dugongs were formerly exceedingly
plentiful, herding together in large numbers, and peacefully feeding
like so many sheep on the seaweed, at depths of from six to twenty
feet. They were at such times so far from being shy that, when rising
at intervals to breathe, or drowsily basking on the surface, they allowed
themselves to be handled,’ so that the smaller and fatter ones were
selected for food, and then shot at the end of the musket, or “laid hold
of and forced on shore.”

The natives of Sumatra, according to Sir Stamford Raffles, assert
that the dugongs are never found on land or in fresh water, and their
presence in shallows of the sea is at night-time ascertained by the
snuffling noise they make at the surface. The Arabs also state of the
dugong of the Red Sea’ that they have feeble voices.?

Respecting these faculties, I have made many enquiries from well-
informed persons, and the replies obtained confirm the truthfulness
of the foregoing observations, at least when applied to the Australian
animal. Hence, I cannot but think that the voice of the dugong
scarcely exceeds the feeble lowing of the whale, and is not deep and
hoarse as that of the larger seals, and that the fleshy front limbs of
inadequate strength, the entire absence of hinder ones, and great
unwieldiness of frame, substantiate the fact that this animal has not the

1 Leguat, Penny Cyclopsedia—Whales; confirmed by Mr. Edward Hill, who for,
some time studied the habits of the dugong in the living state in Northern Australia.
See also, in page 79, Steller’s description of the Rhytina of the Arctic Seas.

2 «This is probably the same as the dugong from India and <Australia.”—Gray,
8. & W., 1866, p. 365.

3 Riippell.

53

power at will to travel inland in order to browse upon terrestrial her-
bage ;’ but whenever found in that position, it has been driven there by
peed. or, as Leguat pithily remarks, “laid hold of and forced on
shore.’

Péron observes, “the sailors were alarmed by a terrible howling,
which resembled the roaring of a bull, but much stronger, and seemed
to come from the reeds.” And Mr. Fraser, in Captain Sterling’s
Voyage, 1826, notices that while attending to the boat on the river he
“ distinctly heard the bellowing of some huge animal, similar to that of
an ox, from an extensive marsh further up the river.” ”

So far thereis nothing extraordinary in these narratives, for the Austral-
ian eared-seal, Zalophus lobatus, is plentiful along the coast of Western
Australia, and its habits and voice accord with the description of these
travellers; but the explanatory remark attached by Dr. Gray, viz.,
“the roars were doubtless from the dugong,” appears to be singularly
infelicitous.

The dugong is a large, ungainly looking creature, reaching in its
adult state to about twenty feet. The colour, according to some, is on
the upper portions of the body slaty black ; to others, brownish-black,
with a whitish breast and belly. The skin is very thick and smooth,
having over it a few remote and scattered hairs. The head is small, the
upper lips are very large and obliquely truncated, on which part it is
tuberculated and bristled ; the flippers are short, thick, and fleshy, and
incapable of supporting on land the huge bulk of the animal.

The flesh is much esteemed as an article of food by the natives of the
various countries whose shores the dugong frequents, and the King of
Malay claims as a royalty all those that are taken in his dominion.
Many Europeans also affirm that it is excellent, comparing it to veal,
to beef, or to pork ; the variation in taste attributed to age and con-
dition. But I am bound to add, that an opposite estimate of the
quality of the flesh, whether roasted, boiled, or stewed, is entertained
by some, to whom it appeared like coarse, oily bacon, and with a
toughness and elasticity of fibre which kept the teeth engaged in a
kind of perpetual motion.

The oil, however, is acknowledged by common consent to be of the
best quality, peculiarly clear, limpid, and free from disagreeable smell.

These animals were formerly captured by the use of the spear, but of
late years harpoons, nets, and boats with organized crews, have been

1 “This induces them” (herbiverous whales) “to leave the water frequently to
come on and crawl and pasture on the shore.”—Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom. ‘ They”
(dugongs) “ are also found, and called ‘the seal,’ on the shore and in the salt-water
inlet of the Concan, where they feed on the vegetable matter found on the rocks, and
bask and sleep in the morning sun.”—Gray, 8. & W., 1866, p. 363. “ Browsing on
fuci, water-plants, or the grass of the shore.”—Owen, Anatomy and Physiology of
Vertebrates, 1866, vol. ii, p. 281. “Le Cétacé est mammifere qui vit dans V’eau, non
comme le Phoque oun le Sirénien, qui prend librement ses ébats sur le rivage de la
mer.” Van Beneden & Gervais, Ost. des Cétacés, p. 1, now publishing.

2 Gray, 8. & W., 1866, p. 364,

54

employed in this country to meet the demand for the oil, which being
carefully prepared, is said to possess all those remedial properties for
which the cod-liver oil has become so noted.

Dr. Hobbs, of Brisbane, has the merit of first introducing this
valuable commodity to notice, and it is much to be regretted that his
enterprise has been cramped by the difficulty of procuring the Dugong
in sufficient numbers, now that it has the experience of the ways of
man.

Sir James Emerson Tennent, in his “Ceylon,” states that the dugong
there, while nursing, carries her offspring under one of her flippers,
where the teat is situated,in such a position that the head of the
young creature and her own are maintained above the water.

The Malays make frequent allusion to this animal as an example of
maternal affection: when they succeed in taking a young one, they feel
themselves certain of the mother, for she follows it, and allows herself
to be speared and taken almost without resistance.

Hautcore Tasrrvacvtti,’ Rippell. Abyssinian Duxgog.

“ Observed by Dr. Riippell swimming among the coral banks on the
coast of Abyssinia.”

“The Arabs stated that they live in pairs,’ or small families; that
they have feeble voices ; feed on alge ; and that in Februaryand March
bloody battles take place between the males, which attain to eighteen
feet.”’—Penny Cyclopedia.

Genus Hariruertum,’ Kaup.

The more perfect remains which have been exhumed of this genus
exhibit the osseous characters of the frame, similar to, and a cranium of
very nearly the same form as the Dugong. The upper incisors assume
the form of tusks, while the lower ones are very small; the molars,
however, approach nearer in structure to those of the Manatee, but
their margins are deeply festooned; of these, the upper have three
tuberculated ridges,—the lower two ; all of the superior teeth are pro-
vided with three roots, and the inferior with two, the last of which is
strongly fanged. The rib bones are solid, not porous or spongy.

These remains have been found principally in France, imbedded in the
deposits of the upper Eocene groups, and those of the Meiocene period ;
and one species was discovered at Piedmont, in the Pleiocene beds.
From their marked analogy with the osseous characters of the Sirenoids,

10Of the tabernacle. So called by Dr. Riippell from the notion that the Jews
employed the skin in veiling the tabernacle. :

* See habits of the Rhytina Stelleri, p. 56.

3 As, the sea, and @nplov, animal.

55

it is presumed that all the species of the genus Halitherium passed
their existence in the shallows of the sea, or about the estuaries of rivers,
and partook of the manners of the dugongs of the present day.

This genus was established by M. Kaup, to bring together many
fragments incorrectly ascribed by Cuvier and others to different
groups.

M. Pictet enumerates the following species :—

HatiTHERium Dusivm, Cuvier.
Hippopotamus dubius, Cuvier.
$5 medius, 4,
HatirHerium Guerrarpt, de Blainville.
Vacha marina, Guettard.
Manatus Guettardi, de Blainville.
HAuITHERIUM FossILE, Cuvier.

Phoca fossilis, Cuvier.
Trichechus fossilis, Cuvier.
Trichechus molassicus, Jaeger.
Manatus Cuvieri, Laurillard.
Manatus Cordieri, de Christol.

Hatirnerivm Beaumont, de Christol.

Hatitnzrivm Sruperi, de Meyer.
Metaxitherium Studeri, de Meyer.

HatirHertum SERReEssii, Gervais.

Chetrotherium, of Bruno.
Manatee, Dugong, Hippopotamus of various French authors.

Genus TRachyTHERIUM,’ Gervais.

M. Gervais founded this genus solely upon one tooth, which was
obtained from the marine calcareous deposit of the Meiocene period at
the Réole in France; consequently no information can be supplied beyond
that it was the last molar of the lower jaw, and that it had on the crown
three transverse tubercular ridges, and not two as in the corresponding
tooth of the preceding genus, but otherwise resembling it.

Trachytheriwm Raulinii, Gervais, is necessarily the only species known.

(0) Genus EpEentarum.
Genus Ruytina,’ Illiger.

Without teeth of any kind, the corneous lamelle, before described,
but on a larger scale, supplying their place; lips double, the outer

1 rpaxds, rough, and @nploy, animal.
2 Surts, wrinkled. .

56

upper one bristly ; flippers small, clawless ; _tail-fin forked ; stomach
simple ; surface of skin rough, folded, presenting a very rugged appear-
ance (hence the generic name) ; cervical vertebra six.

Ruytina STELLERI, Iliger. Steller’s Manatee.

Synonyms—Manate, seu Vacca Marina, Steller.
Trichechus manatus, Miller.
Trichechus borealis, Gmelin, Oken.
Rytina gigas, Gray, 8. and W. 1866, p. 365.

Head small, oblong, obtuse; body dark-coloured, almost hairless,
protected by a rugged covering, like the bark of an old oak, of which
the scarf-skin is composed of fibres or tubes of a similar substance to
the hoofs of cattle, closely packed, and perpendicular to and implanted
into the true skin; the hide is an inch thick, and so tough as scarcely
to be cut with an axe ; but when cut appears like ebony in the inside; the
tail is black, ending in a stiff, crescent-shaped fin, fringed with long
fibrous matter like whalebone. ee

These curious animals, but a little more than a century ago, frequented
in large herds the shoal waters of the bays and estuaries of the rivers of
Behring’s Straits, and of Kamtschatka, but are now probably wholly
extinct by the ruthless hand of the seamen who were in the habit of
wintering in these seas.

During Behring’s second expedition, in 1741, Steller, who accom-
panied him, was compelled by shipwreck to remain on Behring’s Island
for ten months, and he estimated the then existing numbers to be so
large as sufficient to supply food for the whole population of Kamt-
schatka. Sauer, the companion of the same great navigator in his
third voyage, from 1789 to 1793, states that not a single specimen of
the kind could be seen, the last known individual having been killed
about twenty years previous to their visit.

Steller, however, has fortunately left behind him a comprehensive
and reliable account of the habits and appearance of this singular being,
and zoologists are thus entirely indebted to him for all the records they
possess of a race, either effectually driven away from its natural haunts
to more secluded homes, or, in accordance with the general belief, now
numbered among the things of the past.

He relates, in addition to the characteristics given before, that they
were so tame as to suffer themselves to be handled ; if roughly treated,
they removed to the sea, but soon forgot their injuries and returned.
Sometimes they appeared in families near one another, each of which
consisted of a male and female, one half grown, and a cub; these
families often unite and form vast droves.

Their conjugal affection is most striking; a male, after using all his
endeavours to relieve his mate, which had been struck, followed her to
the water’s edge, whence no blows could force him to depart. As long

57

as she continued in the water, he attended; and even three days after
her death, he was observed to remain in expectation of her return.
They are most voracious creatures, and feed with their head under
water, quite inattentive to the boats, or anything that passes around
them ; moving and swimming gently after one another with a great
portion of their back out of the water. Every now and then they
elevate the nose to take breath, and make a noise like the snorting of a
horse. They were taken at Behring’s Island by a great hook fastened
to a long rope, which was taken into a boat, and rowed among the herd.
‘When the animal was struck, the loose end of the rope was conveyed to
land, where it was seized by about thirty people, who with great diffi-
culty drew-it on shore.

In summer they are very fat; in winter quite lean. Steller also ob-
serves that this animal grows to the length of twenty-eight feet, and
that the weight of a very large one was 8,000 pounds.

OrDER 10. ZEUGLODONTIA.!

Teeth of two kinds (?), incisors conical, sharp-pointed, single-rooted,
placed somewhat remote from each other; molars compressed, apex
obtuse, double-rooted, set rather closely together into deep sockets ;
face of the skull much elongated, slender ; nasal orifices normal, that
is, opening at the extremity of the muzzle, as in terrestrial mammals ;
body elongate, whale-like ; pectoral limbs small, fin-shaped; hinder
probably deficient.

From the foregoing general definition of the structure of the animals of
this extinct group, it is interesting to observe that while retaining their
own individuality, how singularly these organic remains connect by
marked coincident features the preceding to the following order.

In instituting a comparison between them, we remark that the normal
position of the breathing apertures, and the structural form of the
teeth, are characters peculiarly their own ; the teeth, most probably of
two kinds only, with the molars, flattened at their apices, and double-
rooted, attach them to the Sirenoids; the greatly elongated beak, and
pointed incisors, suggest their alliance with the Whales; while the
pisci-formed body and pinnated pectoral limbs are properties in
common to them all.

Genus ZevugLopon,;' Owen.

Synonyms—Basilosaurus, Harlan.

vee Squalodon, Grateloup.
Hydrarchus, Koch.
Dorydon, Gibbes.

1 Cebyan, a yoke, and d8ovs, a tooth—like two teeth tied or yoked together.

58
c 3-3 : 1-1 5-5
Incisors 35, canines 77}? molars 5; — 386.

Incisors conical, pointed, curved inwardly, single-rooted; the nature of
the teeth immediately adjoining these is doubtfully expressed in the
dental formula, because many writers regard them as canines, while
others only as premolars in the upper, and incisors in the lower jaw, the
former being furnished with two roots and the latter with one; the
posterior molars are greatly constricted on both sides along the whole
length of the middle of each tooth between the roots, and appear as if
two teeth were united together by a slender bond; indeed the form
when viewed from above resembles rudely a seaman’s watch-glass ; and
each is provided with two large fangs, whose length within the sockets
occasionally doubles the exposed portion of the tooth.

ZEUGLODON MACROSPONDYLTS,' Owen.

Synonyms—Basilosaurus,’ Harlan.
Squalodon Grateloupi, Gervais.
Delphinoides Grateloupi, Pedroni.

Each enlarged part of the molar teeth has a central pulp cavity and
concentric strie of growth; the cranium is very much elongated and
contracted from behind the frontals ; occipital region rises by an abrupt
slope, as in cetaceans ; inferior jaw, in shape resembles those of the
toothed-whales ; dorsal vertebre are elongated and cylindrical ; cervical
vertebrz short.

The fossil remains of this singular being was first discovered by Dr.
Harlan, in 1835, at Arkansas, Mississipi, and he described them in the
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, under the name of
Basilosaurus, as belonging to a gigantic reptile. Four years subse-
quently these bones were forwarded to Professor Owen, who, by a
microscopic examination of the teeth, pronounced the animal to be an
aquatic mammalian, a carnivorous whale, but likewise closely related to
the Manatee. Other relics having been found at Alabama in 1845, Dr.
Giinther and many other zoologists supported Dr. Harlan’s views as to
the reptilian character of the remains, while Burmeister and Miller
retained the mammalian theory. Since this latter date, bones in con-
siderable quantities, and more perfect in distinctive qualities, have been
exhumed, and these appear to confirm in a satisfactory manner the
research and sagacity of Professor Owen in originally arriving at a
correct conclusion from the inspection of materials apparently so slight
and defective.

1 waxpds, long, and omovdtaos, dorsal vertebrae.
2 Baoidreds, king, and cavpos, o lizard.

59

The species of this genus are but imperfectly determined, and much
confusion in regard to their number exists among the comparative
anatomists of the present day. Professor Owen treats only of two
species, the Z. macrospondylus and the Z. cetoides; 10 which M. Pictet
and several others add the Z. hydrarchus, Carus, Z. trachyspondylus;
Miller, and the Z. Gibbesii ? (Dorydon' of Gibbes.)

Of these, the Z. Cetoides appears to be the largest, attaining in
length to about seventy feet, although M. Koch exhibited a skeleton of
one which measured 114 feet long ; this specimen, however, is considered
to be made up by connecting the vertebre of two distinct species, the
Z. macrospondylus and Z. trachyspondylus, and consequently the
accuracy of the foregoing dimension is now generally ignored.

The Z. hydrarchus varies from the Z. macrospondylus by possessing
in the upper jaw four conical double-rooted teeth between the incisors
and molars instead of two—and the Z. trachyspondylus is likewise dis-
tinguished from it by the rough and shorter formed vertebre of the
spinal column.

Genus Squatopon, Grateloup.

The very imperfect remains of only an upper jaw yet found leave
the question still doubtful whether this extinct species ought to be con-
sidered as a reptile or a cetacean. M. Grateloup, the originator of the
genus, places it among the former; while M. Beneden, Pedroni, and
Agassiz assert its affinity to the latter. The number of teeth shown by
these fragments amounts to at least ijn, for the tip of the beak is muti-
lated; and incisors, known but by the alveoli, canines and molars, are
distinctly exhibited, not doubtfully, as in the Zeuglodon. The molars
are similar in their crowns to those of the Zeuglodon, but some of them
are three-rooted. Until determined by better specimens, the Squalodon
will have to occupy its present position.

SQuALODON GRATELOUPII, Gervais.
Squalodon grateloupu, Gervais.
Delphinioides grateloupii, Pedroni.
Phocodon (?), Agassiz.

Teeth i (2), large, compressed, double or treble rooted ; muzzle
not well known, elongated.

Discovered in the tertiary deposits in France and Austria.

1 fos, whale—whale-like. ue er

2 ¥Spa, sea-serpent, and &pyos, original, primitive.
3 rpaxts rough, and omovdvaos, dorsal vertebra,
4 Sépu, a apear, and ddods, tooth.

60

OrDER 11. CETACEA’.

The order Cetacea comprehends all those animals so familiarly
known under the trivial names of Whale, Black-fish, Grampus, Dol-
phin, and Porpoise, and which from their fish-hke form and aquatic
mode of life are, even at the present day, considered by a majority of
persons as true fish.

Their genuine position among the first-class of vertebrated animals is
clearly established by the one incontrovertible fact, that the female,
bearing mamme, suckles her young.

Beyond this important condition, there are, however, so many other
interesting points of departure between the whale and fish tribes, so
thoughtlessly associated together, that I cannot refrain from offering a
few pertinent comparisons for the consideration of the student.

The young of the Cetacex are born alive, and such also is the case
with those of many kinds of fish; but the young of the whale tribe,
during the entire period of their foetal condition, draw their nourish-
ment direct from the parent by the agency of the connecting placenta,
and after birth are wholly dependent upon the milk drained from her
breasts ; not so with the offspring of ovo-viviparous fish, the blennies,
silures, sharks, &e., whose embryo is attached by a pedicle to a yolk,
and both enclosed within an egg, externally protected by a membran-
ous envelope. This egg enlarges within the body of the female, until,
by the gradual and entire absorption of the alimental yolk, the foetus
is fully developed, and the young having thus been completely hatched,
breaks the egg and the membrane which retained it, and passively
seeks an independent living, conforming precisely in all the elements of
foetal vitality and after-growth to the young of the eggs scattered in
the water by oviparous fish.

Again, the blood of all Cctaceans is warm, and consequently they
are compelled to breathe the atmospheric air by means of true lungs,
placed within the cavity of the chest, and have to rise periodically to
the surface of the water in order to respire ; should any accident frus-
trate this indispensable requirement, they would literally be drowned.

They are also provided with necks, which contain the typical number
(seven) of vertebre, common, with three exceptions only’, to the whole
mammalian group, although these necks are extremely short and thick;
their eyes are protected by lids, and many species even possess the
organ for secreting tears: their ears exhibit external openings ; their
nostrils are placed on the crown of the head; their caudal fin invari-
ably assumes the horizontal position ; and their body is covered with a
smooth, almost hairless, leathery hide.

1 cRTos, a whale.

2 The common Sloth (Bradypus tridactylus) : the Manatce (Manatus Australis),
and the Steller’s Manatee (Rhytina Stelleri.)

61

On the contrary, the fish have the blood, although red, quite cold;
their respiratory organs, termed gills, perform their functions through
the medium of water, occasioning no necessity ever to quit that
element to expel or inhale the breath ; the neck is totally absent, the
head being immediately united to the trunk; the ears exhibit no
external openings, as they are inclosed on every side by the bones of
the head; the nostrils are at the end of the muzzle; the body is
usually covered with scales; the eye is lidless, and devoid of any
lachrymal organ; and the tail is always vertically disposed.

Thus the Whales, in all the essential elements of organization, with the
exception of external form, bear no more characteristic affinities to fish
than the winged bats do to their co-tenants of the air, the birds.

The Whales have their bodies long and conical, terminating in a
powerful, cartilaginous tail, the enormous muscles of which constitute
their principle organ of locomotion; their mammez are two, one on each
side of the groin; the skin which covers the body is smooth and
unprotected by hair, but it is immediately succeeded by a thick layer of
blubber, which serves to keep up the proper temperature of the body
requisite for the circulation of the blood ; the nostrils, or spiracles, are
enlarged into blowers, capable of throwing up jets of water, or spray,
accompanied by a loudish noise; the eyes are small, and situated
towards the back part of the head; the external orifice of the ear is
minute, and can be closed at will; the front limbs, although displaying
within all the ordinary bones appertaining to the hand, arm, and
shoulder, are externally fin-shaped, and destitute of claws or nails,
being thus rendered wholly unfit for grasping; the bones are, in
general, very spongy, and strongly impregnated with fat, and in some
respects resemble those of birds; and the voice in most of the species
is reduced to a simple lowing. The various kinds produce one young,
occasionally two, at a birth, and the cubs follow their dams as calves
do cows.

The cetaceans are carnivorous in the general sense, devouring
animals from the small shrimp toa large seal. They are all, witha
few exceptions, essentially marine, ranging the wide expanse of the
ocean, and capable of remaining submerged for a considerable time.

There exists a remarkable peculiarity in the animals of this order,
and which is exhibited even in the foetal condition; namely, that the
two halves of the head rarely correspond with each other in symmetry ;
and it is likewise asserted that in some instances the bones of one side
weigh heavier than those of the other. The greatest symmetry exists
in the whalebone whales, and exactly the opposite prevails in the
Zyphiide. Another remarkable departure from the mammalian type
is found in the increase of the joints of certain fingers of the hand.

With reference to the toothed whales, Mr. Owen remarks that “the
teeth exhibit no conformity of shape in the whole series, nor are they
subject to succession or [ Deaeener by a second or permanent set,”
presenting “in the dental system but little fixity of character, and its

62

variations extend in some cases to anomalies,” yet it appears to me
that, in their number and disposition, they afford to a certain extent
sufficiently trustworthy indications of affinity for the classification of
the species into several natural groups or families, and which, aided by
other characters, would come, without being too elaborate, very con-
veniently within the compass of this primary treatise.

Somewhat contrary to modern practice, I head the following tabular
classification of the Order Cetacea with the Family Platanistide, prin-
cipally in obedience to the dental formula, and partly because of the
many connecting forms of organic structure, which ally the members
of this family with those of the two preceding orders—Zeuglodontia
and Sirenia, on the one hand, and with the true Delphinide, their natural
successors in the Cetacean line of affinity, on the other.

The known individuals of this fresh-water group approach the
extinct carnivorous whales by their elongated head, of which the man-
dible exhibits a lengthened symphysis; by their teeth firmly set in
both jaws, the anterior ones retaining their prehensile character, while
the posterior have their summits worn down broadly to their bases,
the latter occasionally exhibiting two short fangs, a dental feature very
exceptional among other existing whales.

They resemble the Manatee and the Dugong in possessing a com-
paratively long neck, of which the vertebre are all free ; in bearing the
cartilaginous costo-sternal ribs; in the peculiar mode of attachment of
the ribs to the dorsal vertebre ; and in the sternum being composed of
one piece.

The Inia, moreover, presents further corroborative affinities to the
Sirenia worthy of notice, namely, in the restricted number of the
lumbar vertebre and the singular form of the cervical vertebre and
of the sternum,—these important parts being in their structure very
unlike to the corresponding ones of any other cetacean, yet strongly
recalling tc mind those borne by the Dugong and Manatee respectively.

With the Delphinide the alliance is equally well marked—the small
head, proportionate to the bulk of the body; the narrow, prolonged
beak, parallelled in a less exaggerated form by some individuals of the
genus Steno; the two jaws of nearly the same length and breadth,
and both armed with numerous trenchant teeth, the form of which in
the Inia greatly strengthens the affinity with several species of the
true dolphins, by having the surface of their crowns distinguished by a
marked rugosity,—a singularity not only indicated clearly in the teeth
of some species of the genus Steno, but seen in a lesser degree in those
of the young of Orca and Pseudorea.

And in their manner of living and seizing their prey, no one can
dispute the near relationship which exists between the Marine and
Fluviatile Dolphins.

It is to be understood that the number, position, and nature of the
teeth are taken from the adult animal only.

63

Orpen CETACEKA.

TEETII. FAMILIES, | GENERA.
Sup-orper 1. ODONTOCETE, TOOTHED WHALES.
(a.) Megazoophaga, or Rapactous Whales.
1, Platanistide.........) Platanista. Inia.
2. Pontoporiade ......) Pontoporia.
Permanent, numerous, 8, Champsodelphidss | Champsodelphis. Arionius.
A occupying nearly the B, Steno, Delphinus, Tursio. Lageno-
whole length of both 4. Delphinide rhynchus,
jaws. : mw" 11 Oreaella. Orca, Pseudorca. Stereodelphis.
Phoceena.
5. Delphinapteridse ...| Delphinapterus. Neomeris.
(b.) Teuthophaga, or Squid-eaters,
Deciduous, numerous, 2
* 6. Belugidew ............) Belu
B S : ga.
{ ie only of { 7. Globiocephalidx ...) Globiocephalus. Sphzrocephcelus.
Long produced spiral
Cc tusks in upperjaw ott 8. Monodontide ...... Monodon.
male only. .
: F 6. Grampide ............| Grampus,
p (Deciduous, in foment 10. Hyperoodontide ...| Hyperoodon. Ziphius. Choneziphius.
U_ jaw only. 11. Physeteride ......... Kogia. Physeter. Balcenodon.
12. Mesoplodontide ...| Mesoplodon. Dioplodon. Berardius,
SuB-oRDER 2. ANODONTOCETE. WHALEBONE WHALES.
(¢.) Microzoophaga, or Insect-eaters.
13, Balznopteridz......) Balenoptera, Physalus. Sibbaldius.
EB None; rudimentary 14. Megapteride.. Megaptera.
and absorbed. 15. Agaphelidzs Agaphelus.
16. Baleenide ...... .| Baleena, Eubaleena.

Before entering upon the details of the respective groups, taken
seriatim as tabulated, [ may remark that, with three or four exceptions
only, in all the known species of the toothed whales(Odontocete) those
which possess dorsal fins or distinct dorsal protuberances, have the
cervical vertebre more or less anchylosed'; whereas in those kinds
where the dorsal fin is absent, the neck vertebre are free’. The reverse
of this singular union of two apparently unconnected, but important
parts of organic structure occurs in the whalebone whales (Anodon-
tocete), the dorsal-finned species having the cervical vertebre in most
instances free, while those without the back fin, with the exception of
the scrag whales, have the vertebre of the neck anchylosed into one
solid mags.

Thus, by the examination of the cervical vertebre of any cetacean
skeleton set up in a museum, the dorsal outline of the living animal
can with considerable accuracy be traced.

1 Cervical vertebra of Delphinus tursio (Tursio truncatus), are said by Cuvier to
be free ; Pontoporia blainvillii, cervical vertebre free—Burmeister.

2 By the same author (Cuv.), the neck vertebre of Delphinus (Delphinapterus)
Peronii are anchylosed, and also that of Delphinapterus (Neomeris) phoceenoides.

64

Sub-order I. ODONTOCETE.

Toothed Whales.

Teeth always developed, but very variable in number and position ;
palate without baleen; head of moderate or excessive size; upper
surface of skull unsymmetrical; external respiratory organ always
single; gullet large; rami of mandible nearly straight, invariably con-
nected anteriorly by a true symphysis ; sternum nearly always composed
of several pieces and united to several pairs of ribs by costo-sternal
ribs of unossified cartilage or of bone.

(a) Mucazoopuada. Rapacious Whales.

A. Teeth permanent, numerous, occupying nearly the whole length
of both jaws.

Family I. PLATANISTIDA.?

Without dorsal fin, back slightly keeled; cervical vertebre free;
head small, convex ; both jaws of nearly the same length and breadth;
beak very long and narrow; mandibular symphysis very long, more
than half the entire length of the rami, greatly resembling that of the
sperm whale; sternum of one piece; costo-sternal ribs cartilaginous;
pectoral fin broad, truncated, five-fingered.

Genus Puatanista, Pliny.
Teeth, ==, or, 2 = 112, or, 120.

> 2B-2b? 7 30-30
Rather stout, set well apart, subcylindrical, anterior ones longest,
compressed, and slightly curved ; posterior ones short, with occasionally
two short fangs. The long and slender beak, slightly more than three-
quarters of the entire length of the skull, is compressed at the sides,
expanded and slightly curved upwards at the extremity, where it is
larger than in the middle. The black, shining eyes are exceedingly
minute, scarcely one-eighth of an inch in diameter, obviously better
adapted for turbid than clear waters. In general, their movements
appear to be sluggish, but when in pursuit of fish they become active
and fleet. There are but two species known, viz. :—
Pratayista Ganaetica, Roxburg. Dolphin of the Ganges.
The Susu.

Synonyms—Delphinorhychus Glangeticus, Lesson.

Platanista Gangeteca, Gray, B.M.C., 1866 ; Supp. 1871.

Soosoo of the Ganges. Jardine, Nat. Libr,, vol. 7.

The Susu of the Ganges attains to about seven feet in length, and its
general colour is of a shining pearly grey. These animals frequent in

1 rAaraviotns, Pliny’s name for a dolphin, considered by Cuvier to be probably this
very species. :

65

great numbers the slow-moving labyrinths of the rivers and creeks
which intersect the delta of the Ganges, but they are also known to
have ascended that river to more than a thousand miles above Calcutta.
They, however, confine their limits of range to within the bounds of
rivers, never venturing out into the open ocean.

Pratanista Inpr, Blyth. The Susu of the Indus.

Synonyms—Platanista Gangetica (minor), Owen. Cat. Coll. Surg.
Platanista Indi, Blyth. Journ. Asiat. Soc., Bengal: Gray,
B.M.C., 1866; Suppl., 1871, p. 62.

As the name implies, this dolphin inhabits the river Indus and its
tributaries, and in colour, size, and habits, bears a great resemblance to
the species first described ; it differs, however, in possessing a larger and
more robust skull, and in the teeth, although equal in number, being
shorter, and more ground down by attrition.

Genus Inta’, Gray.
Teeth, 2° to #3 = 104 to 182.

2 26-26 33-33

Conical, permanent, firmly set, with compressed roots; anterior ones
simple, sharp, slightly incurved; posterior with a broad, rounded
tubercle towards the base of the crown; beak of the skull three-
quarters of the entire length of the skull; pectoral fin large, ovate,
obtusely pointed. The lower jaw, being terminated by a long cylindrical
muzzle, affords, like the Platanista, an exact miniature resemblance to
that of the Cachalot.

Intra GrorFrorensis, de Blainville. The Inia.
Synonyms—Delphinus Geoffroyii, Desm.; Mamm.
Delphinorhynchus frontatus. F. Cuvier.
Inia Boliviensis, D’Orbigny. Voy. Amer. Merid.
Inia Geoffroyii, Gray, B.M.C., 1866. Suppl., 1871, p. 64.
Inia Geoffroyensis, Flower ; Tran. Z. Soc., vol. 6, part 8.

This animal is at the present the only one of the genus, but from the
great variation in the number of the teeth,’ presented by several skulls
in European museums, the probability arises that more than one kind
will hereafter be distinctly determined.

The female Inia Geoffroyensis, when adult, measures about 7 feet;
the male, it is said, arrives to a much larger size; the colour of both is
of a pale blue on the upper portions of the body, and reddish under-
neath.

This dolphin is a native of South America, and, in groups of three or
four, locates not only the remote tributaries of the Amazon, but, at vast
distances from the sea, the elevated lakes of Peru, and thus may be
considered as a true fresh-water cetacean.

1Tnia, so named by the native Indians of Bolivia.
2 On this point see Gray, Suppl., p. 64, and Flower T. Z. S., vol. 6, p. 87.
5

66

Family II. PONTOPORIADA.

With dorsal fin ; head small, convex, longly-beaked ; jaws nearly of the
same length and breadth, armed throughout with teeth ; skull, long-
beaked; beak slender, compressed, about three-fourths of the entire
length of skull; mandibular symphysis very long, upwards of half of
the entire length of ramus, greatly resembling those of Platanista and
Inia; costo-sternal ribs ossified ; cervical vertebre free ; teeth numerous,
permanent, conical.

Genus Pontoporia, Gray.

Beak high, compressed, slender smooth ; pectoral fin short, truncated,
five-fingered ; dorsal fin short, triangular; mandible grooved on each
side; symphysis frequently anchylosed by age; teeth with a swollen
ring round the base.

Ponroporta Buarnvinii, Treminville. The Pontoporia,

Synonyms—Delphinus Blainvillii, Tremin.
Stenodelphis Blainvillii, Gervais.
Pontoporia Blainvillii, Gray, 8. and W. p. 231; Suppl.
p. 96; Flower, Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. 6, p. 87.

Teeth #8 to = 212 to 222, small, in many respects resembling those
of the Inia,

Tnhab. coasts of Buenos Ayres—South Atlantic.

For many years a doubt has existed whether this species was fluvia-
tile or marine, and whether it possessed a dorsal fin or was deprived of
- that appendage; for only a few remains, of uncertain origin, were known
to the scientific world. Dr. Burmeister of Buenos Ayres has recently
solved the problem, by the issue of a valuable monograph, whereby not
only all doubts of its structure and habits are removed, but its position
in the cetacean group is so far defined that it cannot be retained among
the Platanistidee, whcre some eminent writers had placed it, neither can
it be classed with the Delphinide propriw, as determined by other
zoologists: the only alternative therefore appears to be to form an
express family for its reception, and possibly for other allied kinds,
recent or fossil, which some day may be brought to light.

It apparently constitutes an excellent connecting link between the
fresh-water and marine dolphins, approaching the former by the pro-
longed beak, the greatly lengthened symphysis, and the free condition
of the cervical vertebra ; and to the latter, by the dorsal fin and ossified
cartilages of the ribs. I, therefore, assign to it the present position.

1 révros, tho sea, and mépis, © calf.

67

Family III. CHAMPSODELPHIDZ.’

Beak of the skull much elongated; symphysis of lower jaw two-
thirds the length of the entire ramus; teeth strong, permanent,
numerously developed in both jaws.

Genus CHAMPSODELPHIS, Gervais.
Teeth with roots thicker than the crowns.

CHAMPSODELPHIS' MACROGENIUS,” Cuvier.

Delphinus macrogentus, Cuvier.
Champsodelphis macrogenius, Gervais, Pictet.

Is distinguished by the great length of the symphysis of the lower
jaw, a peculiarity of structure only equalled by that of the sperm whale
of our days; but the teeth being numerous and differently formed, pro-
hibit the association of these two cetals. The dolphins, included in
the family Platanistide, possess the mandibular symphysis rather more
than half the length of the ramus, but Cuvier has shown that the con-
struction of the bones more nearly allies this species to the Delphinus
(Steno of Gray) rostratus, than to the Susu of the Ganges.

I may again be permitted to call attention to the fact that no existing
species of the genus Steno, the most remarkable one among the
Delphinide for exhibiting in excess this peculiarity, possesses a man-
dibular symphysis which ever attains to more than one-third the entire
length of the ramus.

CuampsoveLrurs' Borns, Gervais.

Is very similar to the foregoing, but found in a different locality.
The remains of these two species were discovered in France, em
bedded in the strata of the meiocene period ; an age which also pro-
duced, among other mammals, those of the Deinotherium, the
Zeuglodon (a carnivorous whale), and of the Halitherium (a Sirenian
animal).
Genus Axtiontus, H. de Meyer.

Teeth slightly bent ; apices pointed ; roots nearly circular.

ARronius sERnvaTus, H. de Meyer.

Synonym—Delphinus molassicus, Jaeger, Owen.
Found at Wurtemburg, in the molasse, or soft tertiary sandstone of
the meiocene age.

i ydupat, a kind of crocodile, and Seagis, dolphin—in allusion to the elongated
form of the beak and formidable array of teeth.
2 paxpéds, long, and yévus, the chin.

68

Family IV. DELPHINID&.*

With dorsal fin; head small, convex, moderately beaked ; symphysis
of mandible moderate in length, never exceeding one-third of the
entire length of the ramus ; cervical vertebre more or less anchylosed ;
costo-sternal ribs ossified.

By a reference to the tabulated synopsis of the Cetacez, it will be
seen that I have limited the members of this Family to only a few of
the genera to be met with in Dr. Gray’s last arrangement of 1871.
Even as now restricted it is very fertile in species, and some or other of
the individuals comprised within it may be met in almost every
imaginable part of the ocean, north and south of the equator, enduring
the extremes of heat and cold, disporting along the coasts, or within the
shallower waters of the bays, ascending the innumerable creeks and
inlets, or midway traversing the broad expanse of the sea, fleet and
voracious, ever in a state of activity

“Or dive below, or on the surface leap
And spout the waves, and wanton in the deep.”

The Delphinide, of which the smaller members bear to each other a
most perplexing family likeness, are nevertheless made up of two
tolerably well-defined groups, typically represented by the common
dolphin and the common porpoise. The following general features
will sufficiently distinguish the two. In the group of which
the common dolphin is the representative, the head is more or less but
decidedly beaked, the beak being parted from the forehead by a
separating furrow ; the lower jaw is usually of greater length than the
upper one, and its symphysis moderately long. In the other section,
typified by the porpoise, the head tapers uniformly towards the lips,
scarcely, if at all, beaked, and without a divisional groove ; the jaws are,
in general, more of an equal length, and the symphysis of the lower
one comparatively short.

With these few preliminary remarks, I proceed, in the concise terms
to which I am limited, to the description of the genera and species of
the Family, following in general the order of arrangement proposed by
Dr. Gray; but deviating from it on such occasions, where I thi
the purpose I have in view is forwarded by a method of greater
simplicity.

Genus StENo®, Gray.

Head and forehead convex, moderately beaked; beak of the skull

compressed, higher than broad, usually about -4y of the entire length of

the skull; symphysis of lower jaw elongate, from ? to 3 length of the
ramus ; fore fins moderately long, triangular, obtusely pointed at the

1 From delphinus, a dolphin.
2 Tursio truncatus excepted ?
3 orévos, narrow.

69

end. First finger short, cartilaginous: the second with six, the third
with five, the fourth with two, and the fifth with one bony joint. The
wrist bones all separated by broad cartilages. Shoulder-blade oblique,
truncated at the posterior angle-——From Flower.

Teeth conical, large to small.

“This genus,” says Dr. Gray, “is at once known from Lageno-
rhychus and Delphinus by the length, compression, and tapering form
of the beak of the skull.”

STENO FRoNTATUS,' Cuvier. The Fronted Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus frontatus, Cuvier, Owen.
Steno frontatus, Gray, B. M. C. and Suppl.
Teeth 5:3: large, about two in an inch, often rather rugose.
Dr. Dickie describes the animal as having the skin rough, the back
oo black, and the belly dirty white, and the female being 9 feet
ong.
Tahaby Indian Ocean.

Stevo compressvs, Gray. The Narrow-beaked Dolphin.

Teeth 7s large, about two in an inch.
“ Beak of the skull compressed, attenuated in front.”
Inhab. South Seas.

Steno rostRatus,® Cuvier. The Beaked Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus rostratus, Cuvier, Reg. Anim., p. 289.
Delphinus planiceps, Breda, 1829.
Delphinorhyncus Bredanensis, Jardine, N. L., vol. vii., p. 252.
Steno-rostratus, Gray, Suppl. B. M. C., 1871, p. 65.

21-21 23-23 . .
Teeth Hai or 25, rather large, about two in an inch.

Animal black above, rosy-white beneath, having the lower part of the
sides black-spotted.
Inhab. North Sea.

Steno Srvewsts,' Osbeck. The Chinese White Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus sinensis, Osbeck, Desmarest, Flower, Tran. Zool.
Soc., vol. vii. p. 151.
Steno sinensis (Chinensis), Gray, Suppl. B. M. C., 1871,
p. 65.
Teeth $33, many much worn down, about three in an inch. '
The animal is milkish white, with pinkish fins and black eyes, and in
length 7 feet 6 inches. ;
Tnhab. China—harbour of Amoy, Canton, and Foochow Rivers.

1 Fronted.

2 Compressed.

3 Beaked. ;
4 Sina, China, adj. sinensis.

70

Stevo Gapamvu, Owen. The Gadamu Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus Gadamu, Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. vi., p. 17.
Clymenia Gadamu, Gray, Suppl. B. M. C., 1871, p. 70.

24-24, 27-27 PY .
Teeth i to mz, about three in an inch.

Colour of the animal, upper part plumbeous ashy-grey ; underneath
pinkish ashy-grey. In length about 7 feet.
Inhab. Vizagapatam.

SrENO MACULIVENTER, Owen. The Spot-bellied Dolphin.
Synonym—Delphinus maculiventer, Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. vi,
p. 21.

Teeth #3, about three in an inch.

Body above, a deep, shining, lead-coloured black; paler beneath,
blotched irregularly over with ashy-grey. Length about 7 feet; called
by the native fishermen “ Suvva.”

Inhab. Vizagapatam.

Steno LENTIGINosUS,’ Owen. The Freckled Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus lentiginosus, Owen, Trans. Zool. Soe. vol. vi., p. 20.
Steno lentiginosus, Gray, B. M. C., 1866, p. 894; Suppl.
1871, p. 66. :

Teeth 23 about four in an inch.

Upper surface of the animal of a slate-colour, freckled over with
lead-coloured streaks or spots; underneath similar but lighter. Length
nearly 8 feet ; known by the native fishermen by the name of “ Bolla
Gidimi.”

Inhab. Waltair, Vizagapatam.

Stevo Matayanvs, Lesson. The Malay Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus Malayanus, Lesson. Voy. Coq.
Delphinus plumbeus, Cuvier, Reg. Anim, Jardine “ Nat.
Libr.”
Steno Malayanus, Gray. B.M.C. 1866, p. 282.

Teeth =%, about four in an inch.
Colour of the animal, greyish-lead throughout ; length, about eight
feet.

Inhab. Malabar Coast.

Steno Carensis, Gray. The Cape Steno.

Teeth 2% small, about five in an inch.
Mandible slender, attenuated ; symphysis 3 of ramus. (See B.M.C.
. 894.)

P
Inhab. Cape of Good Hope.

1 Macula, a spot, and venter, the belly.
2 Freckled.

71

SrENo aTrENvaTUs, Gray. The slender-beaked Dolphin.

Teeth 32, small, about five in aninch. (See B.M.C. p. 235, and
Suppl. 1871, p. 66.)

STENO BREVIMANUS', Pucheran. The Singapore Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus brevimanus, Pucheran. Voy. Dumont d’Urville.
Steno brevimanus, Gray. B.M.C., 1866, p. 286.
Teeth #*, small, about five in an inch.
Inhab. Banda, Singapore.

STENO ROSEIVENTRIS’ Pucheran. The Molucca Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus roseiventris, Pucheran. Voy. Dumont d’Urville.
Steno roseiventris, Gray. B.M.C., 1866, p. 233.

Teeth 7“, small, about five in an inch.

“ Greyish-black above, under half rosy-white ; orbit, streak from eye
to the pectoral, and pectoral fin, dusky. Beak elongate, slender. Beak
of skull very long, half as long again as the brain cavity.” Gray.

Inhab. Molucca.

STENO FLUVIATILIS’, Gervais. The Dolphin of the Upper Amazons.

Synonyms—Delphinus fluviatilis, Gervais and Delille.
Steno tucuxi, Gray. Suppl. B.M.C., 1871, p. 66.
Steno ? fluviatilis, Steno ? pallidus, Gray. Suppl. B.M.C.,
1871, p. 66,

Teeth 72 to 2%, small, about five in an inch.

Ҥ. fluviatilis, above blackish, a broad band from the eye to the
pectoral, and the pectoral fin black. Lower jaw and beneath rosy-
white, the white bent up so as to form a broad white lobe behind the
orbit over the pectoral.” “8S. tucuxi, dark blackish or fuscous ; it does
not roll over like the Bouko (Inia Geoffroyensis), but comes to the
surface to breathe: called by the natives Zucuxi.” “8S. pallidus, pale
yellowish white above, beneath white.” Both S. fluviatilis and 8S. pallidus
“may be the same as 8. tucuxi.” .

Inhab. “ the upper parts of the Amazons River, 1,500 miles from the
sea.” See Gray. B.M.C. 1866, p. 236, 237. Suppl. 1871, p. 66.

Steno Guravensis, Van Beneden. The Guiana Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus Guianensis, Van Beneden.
Tursio ? Guianensis, Gray. B.M.C. 1866, p. 257.
Sotalia Guianensis, Gray. Suppl. 1871, p. 67.

Teeth 223 to 2 slender, conical, about five in an inch.
23-23 30-30? > ?

Inhab. British Guiana.

1 Brevis, short, and manus, the hand.
® Roseus, colour of a rose, rosy, and venter, the belly.
3 Fluviatilis, of or pertaining to a river,

72

Genus DELPHINUS.’

Head and forehead convex, longly-beaked ; pectoral fin elongate,
faleate, obtusely pointed ; first, fourth, and fifth fingers short ; second
much the longest, with eight or nine joints ; third about a fourth shorter
than the second; beak of the skull elongate, commonly + of the entire
length of the skull, depressed, broader than high; symphysis of man-
dible from moderate to short, usually between 4 and + length of the
ramus ; teeth conical, small, slender, set closely together.

(a) Palate behind deep channelled on each side.
* Teeth about five in an inch.

DeLPHINUS LoncIRosTRIs, Dussumier. The Malabar Dolphin.

Delphinus longirostris, Dussum, Cuvier, Gray. S. and W. p. 241.
Suppl. p. 68.

Teeth 2% or #*, about five in an inch.

Colour, black; length, nearly seven feet.

Inhab. Cape of Good Hope, Japan, Ceylon, and Malabar. Gray,

B.M.C., p. 241. Suppl. p. 68.

Denrninus DELPHIS, Linneus. The Common Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus delphis, Linn., Hunter, Desmarest, Jardine,
Cuvier, Gray, Bell, Nilsson, &c.

42 42 50-50 . .
Teeth gp to wp, about five in an inch.

Colour : black above, sides grey, and beneath white ; length from 7 to
10 feet.

Inhab. the Northern and probably the Southern Seas.

This animal is gregarious in its habits, being very rarely seen alone,
and is observed to be a constant attendant at such places where
mackerel, pilchards, and other fish abound. It is swift and voracious,
and so eager in the pursuit of its prey that it is frequently found en-
tangled in the fishermen’s nets.? The beak, which is characteristic of
the group, is flattened and elongated, and from this peculiar form, it is
called by the French, “ Goose-bill and sea-goose.” The English
sailors, however, know this and similar animals by the name of “ bottle-
noses” or “ flounder-heads,” and not by that of Dolphin?

Considerable doubt is entertained among naturalists, whether the
Delphinus delphis of the European coast, and certain dolphins inhabit-
ing the Southern Seas, are to be regarded as the same species. Possibly

1 Delphinus, Serpis, a dolphin.

2«Tn the month of September, 1845, eight or ten in a day were brought on shore
in Mount’s Bay, for many days in succession.” Couch, Cornish Whales.

3 The dolphin of sailors is a true fish, the Coryphena hippuris, about five feet long,
and celebrated for the eternal war it wages against flying-fish, and for the surprising
changes of colour, when expiring.

73

not, but there is no appreciable difference in their general external
appearance. Until this disputed point can be settled by the comparison
of authentic specimens, I shall consider the two under the present
denomination.

“These small whales (D. delphis) came around the bows of the ship
in extensive shoals, and many were harpooned by our crew. We held
them in much esteem for the table. When the external covering of
lard or blubber is stripped off, the flesh beneath is found entirely free
from fat or oil, and when cooked as steaks, bears a close resemblance to
tender beef. It is certainly superior to the flesh of the turtle, cooked
in the same form. The liver is also palatable and wholesome, and
resembles the same part of a pig. In all the individuals we obtained, the
contents of the stomach were either fish, cuttle-fish, or shrimps.” *

Deztpursus Mooret, Gray. Moore’s Dolphin.

44-44 . a
Teeth gz, five in an inch.

Upper surface of body, black; a black lunule-shaped streak from
eye to eye, over the base of the beak ; the sides and pectoral fins grey ;
chin and belly white ; length, about 6 feet 4 inches.

Inhab. South Atlantic Ocean. Gray, B.M.C., p. 397. Suppl., p. 68.

Devpninus Marcinatus, Duvernoy. The Dieppe Dolphin.
Synonyms — Delhinus marginatus, Duvernoy, Desmarest, Gray,
B.M.C., page 245.
Teeth $5 to $3 ? about five in an inch.

Upper part of the body black, paler on the head and sides; under-
neath, white; beak slender ; teeth larger than common dolphin.
Inhab. Dieppe, Mediterranean ?

Denputnus mason, Gray. The Greater Dolphin.

46-46 . .
Teeth a, nearly five in an inch.

Skull larger than that of the common dolphin. Gray, B.M.C.,
p. 396.

Detrurnus Janrea, Gray. The Janira.

Synonyms—Delphinapterus Peronii, Mus. Brist. Inst.
Delphinus Janira, Gray, B.M.C., p. 245, Suppl. p. 68.

Teeth #8, about five in an inch.
Inhab: Newfoundland.

1 Narrative of a Whaling Voyage round the Globe, 1833 to 1836, by Frederick
Debell Bennett.

2 Marginatus, broad-bordered.

3 Major, greater.

74

Detpatnus Novm ZEALANDIA, Quoy et Gaimard. The New Zealand
Dolphin.
Synonyms—Delphinus Nove Zealandie, Quoy et Gaim., Voy. Astrol.
Delphinus Nove Zealandia, Grey, B.M.C., p. 246.

Teeth #%, five in an inch,

Above black-brown, like polished leather; the belly, and the edge of
the upper jaw and the whole of the lower one dull white. A broad
yellow band commences at the eye, narrows on the sides, and ends
below the dorsal. The tail slate-colour. The pectorals are lead-white,
like the middle of the dorsal, with black edges.

A black line from the upper part of the head, enlarging and inclosing
the eye, which is bordered above and below witha white line. The eye
large, black ; the lower jaw with small rings of pores, and the body with
small plaits of regularly twisted white striz.

Length 5 ft. 10 in.

Inhab: New Zealand and Tasmania.

DELPHINUS ALBIMANUS,'’ Peale. The Chilian Dolphin.
Syncnyms—Delphinus albimanus.’ Peale—Explo. Expedition, 1848.
Delphinus albimanus, Gray.—B.M.C., p. 247.

Teeth 2%, about five in an inch.

Colour blue-black ; belly and pectoral fins white ; sides pale tawny ;
eyes small, brown, surrounded with a black ring, which joins the black
of the snout.

Length 6 ft. 6in; weight estimated at 150 Ibs.

Inhab: coasts of Chili.

This dolphin and that from New Zealand are presumed to be
identical.

De.rnints Pernicer,”’ Elliot. The Deep-black Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus perniger, Elliiot—Journ. Asiat. Soc.
Delphinus perniger, Gray.—B.M.C., p. 249.
The teeth of this small dolphin are proportionally large.
Inhab: Bay of Bengal.

DELPHINUS FULVIFasciaTus,® Pucheran. The Dusky-banded Dolphin.
Synonyms—Delphinus fulvifasciatus, Pucheran.—Voyage Dumont

d’Urville.
Gray._S. & W., p. 2538, and
Teeth #4 Supplement p. 68.

Blackish; side of back fulvous; throat and beneath white; beak,

orbit, streak from angle of mouth to pectoral fin, and pectoral fin,
blackish.

Inhab: coasts of Tasmania.

1 albus, white, and manus, hand.
2 perniger, very black.
3 fulvus, deep-yellow, tawny, and fasciatus, swathed.

75

De.rutnus Pomergra, Owen. The Pomeegra Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus Pomeegra, Owen. Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. 6, p. 23.
Gray. Suppl. 8. and W., p. 69.

Teeth $43, about five in an inch.

The upper portion of the body is of a shining deep leaden colour,
almost black, becoming lighter on the abdominal parts. It is described
as a small cetacean. The symphysis of mandible is less than one-sixth of
length of ramus.

Inhab: coasts of Madras.

** Teeth between five and six in an inch.

DEtrumvs OBLIquipEns, Cope.
Synonyms—Delphinus obliquidens. Cope, Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1869.
Gray, Suppl. § and W., p. 69.

Teeth P
Inhab: North Pacific.

Detruinus Sao, Gray. The Sao.
Teeth 2 small, cylindrical, hooked.

Inhab: Madagascar. From a skull in the Paris Museum.

Depxenvs Feiran, Blyth. Frith’s Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus Frithii, Blyth. Asiat. Soc. Calcutta.
Gray, 8S. & W., p. 248.

a 52-52
Teeth 7%

Skull in the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta.
Inhab: “ Procured during a voyage from England to India.’

¥** Teeth six in an inch.
DeteHinus, WALKERI Gray. Walker’s Dolphin.

Teeth i, six in an inch.

“The pectoral fin, snout, the dorsal fin, a wavy streak from base of
beak to eye, and upper surface of tail, black; sides of the face and
body to near the base of the tail, grey, with an elongated triangular
patch beginning below the pectoral fin and extending near to the base
of the tail, the broadest part over the vent. Chin and beneath, as bigh
as the base of the pectoral fin, and to the vent, white. Length from
end of snout to tip of tail 6 feet 7} inches.” Gray, S. & W.,p. 397.

Inhab, South Atlantic Ocean.

76

(6) Palate flat, not deeply channelled on each side.
* Teeth about five in an inch.

Detrninus Stenoruyncuvs, Gray. The Steno-beaked Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus Stenorhynchus, Gray. 8. & W., p. 896.
Clymenia Stenorhyncha, Gray. Supplement, p. 69.
Teeth ae, five in an inch.
Hab: not known.

Detparnus Forsterr? Gray. Forster’s Dolphin.
Synonyms—Delphinus Fosteri ? Gray, 8S. & W., p. 248, Suppl. p. 69.

45 45 . .
Teeth gag small, five in an inch.

Above, dark rust-coloured, beneath, dull dirty-white.

“ Body straizht, round, thickest behind ; the pectoral fin tapering at
both ends; head rounded, shelving in front, beaked: beak straight,
pointed, cylindrical, depressed, attenuated, and blunt at the tip ; upper
jaw shorter, both blunt, toothed; eyes small, oblong, nearly in the
middle of the side, near the gape of the mouth.” “ Length 6 feet from
nose to tail,” (female). Forster.

Tnhab: “Pacific Ocean, between New Caledonia and Norfolk
Island” Forster ; Port Jackson, coast of New South Wales.

I have provisionally placed under this specific name a dolphin
recently captured at Manly Beach, a short distance from the north
entrance of Port Jackson.

This fine and perfect specimen Mr. Krefft, with his usual alacrity,
at once secured for the Australian Museum, and, under his own super-
intendence, when the animal was still alive, had photographs of its
external appearance, and varicus admeasurements of the body, taken.

Our public institution consequently is now further enriched by
another admirable skeleton of a cetacean, in addition to the several
others lately acquired of these rare creatures, and also, with an un-
usually correct stuffed representative of an extensive group, commonly
so greatly caricatured in book illustrations and museum specimens.

Assisted by Mr. Krefft, I took the dimensions of many parts of the
skull, and find that although these correspond closely in many particu-
lars with the similar portions of the skull of Delphinus microps, now
Stenorhynchus, marked 2, detailed by Dr. Gray in his Catalogue 8. and
W. 1866, p. 240, yet the deviations betrayed by the comparison were
sufficiently distinct to dispel any idea of their sameness.

I an, therefore, led to the belief when taking into consideration the
size, external appearance, general colouring, with the exception of the
small discal white spot on each fin, the geographic range of habitat,
and common occurrence, that this dolphin is probably identical with
He is described in 1774 by Dr. Forster, the companion of Captain

ook.

17

The dimensions alluded to are as follows, to which are added several
other particulars : —

Teeth 2%, small, five in an inch.

Palate flat, without deep longitudinal channels on each side.
Feet. Inches, —

Entire length of skull... Oo 18
Length of beak, from tip to maxillary notch 0 il 8
Length of tooth- line, from tip to ee oo

of last tooth 4 . o 9 11
Length of ramus of lower j jaw 2 oO 15 7
Length of symphysis of lower jaw (nearly one-

seventh of ramus) Oo 2 3
Width of beak at maxillary notch 0 38 10
Width of beak at its middle a 0 2 2
Width of skull at the orbits 0 6 -
Length of animal, a female 6 8

Colour: above, dark-reddish brown, almost black along the Hina
beneath, dull dirty white.

DetPainus punctatus,’ Gray. The Spotted Dolphin.
Synonym—Delphinus punctatus, Gray, 8. and W., p. 398.

Teeth 333 small, five in an inch.

e Upper | portion black; sides with minute white spots ; sides of the
body above the base of the pectoral fin to the base o the tail blackish
grey, which colour is obliquely extended as a lunate band from behind
the vent to the back near the base of the tail.” Gray, 8. and W.,

398.

3 Inhab: North Atlantic Ocean.

DeLrHinus HupHrosyye, Gray. The Euphrosyne.
Synonym—Delphinus Euphrosyne, Gray, 8. and W., p. 251.
Delphinus Holbélliz, Eschricht.
Llymenia Euphrosyne, Gray, Suppl. p. 70.
Teeth, = ix, about five in an inch.
Inhab: North Sea, Coast of England, South Atlantic.

De.ruines FRenatus,” F, Cuvier. The Bridled Dolphin.
Synonym—Delphinus frenatus, F. Cuvier, Pucheran, &c.
Tursio frenatus, Gray. 8. and W., p. 256.

Teeth $= about five in an inch.

Colour: above blackish ; sides ashy ; belly white; end of the tail
black beneath ; dark band from the angle of the mouth under the eye,
whence the specific name: length 4 feet 6 inches. (This probably is a
misprint.)

Inhab: Cape de Verd.

1 Pierced with minute spots.
2 Bridled, from frenum, a bridle.

78

Derninus pusrus} Cuvier. The Variable Dolphin.

Synonym—Delphinus dubius, Cuvier, Reg. Anim., Gray, S. and W,,
p. 2538.
Teeth, #3 about five in an inch.

Resembles the common dolphin in its colour.
Inhab: the Cape de Verd Islands.

Derruinus Doris,” Gray. The Doris.

Synonyms—Tursio Doris, Gray, S. and W., p. 255.
Clymenia Doris, Gray, Suppl., p. 70.

Teeth $33 or x, slender, five in an inch.
The skull only known.
Inhab: Cape of Good Hope.

Deteninus Dorrwes,’ Gray.

Synonyms—Tursio Dorides Gray, 8. and W., p. 400.
Clymenia Dorides, Gray, Suppl. p. 71.
Teeth $s, small, slender, full five in an inch.
The skull only known.
Hab: unknown.

Deteninus Evrropra, Gray. The Eutropia.

Synonyms—Delphinus Eutropia, Gray. Zool. “Erebus” and “Terror.”
Tursio Eutropia, Gray, 8. & W., p. 262.
Eutropia Dichiei, Gray, Suppl., p. 75.

Teeth $s, small, slender, about five in an inch.
From the skull only.
Inhab : South Pacific Ocean—Coasts of Chili.

Detrumvs Capensis, Cuvier. The Cape Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus Capensis, Cuv., Reg. Anim.
Delphinus Heavisidii, Gray, 1828.
Delphinus hastatus, F, Cuvier.
Tursio Heavisidii, Gray, 8. & W., p. 268. °
Eutropia Heavisidii, Gray, Suppl., p. 75.
Teeth = to im about five in an inch.
Black, with a white streak and two diver,

Inhab: Coasts of Cape of Good Hope.

1dubius, doubtful, variable.
2 Doris, anymph of the sea.
3 Similar to, or resembling Doris,

cing lines beneath.

79

Dertraimnvs Compressicaupus', Lesson. The Compressed-tailed
Dolphin.
Synonyms—Phocena compressicauda, Lesson, F. Cuvier.
Tursio compressicaudus, Gray, 8. & W., p. 266.
Teeth $43, small, about five in an inch.

Lead-coloured, belly whitish, base of tail compressed on each side.
Inhab: Western Coast, Africa. ?

Deieumvs Cuamissonis, Weigm. The White-muzzled Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus chamissonis, Weigm, Schreber.
Delphinus albirostratus, Peale, Expl. Exped.

Dark blue-grey, fins and back nearly black, a dark line connects the
corner of the mouth with the pectoral fin; front and sides dark grey,
covered with small vermicular white spots; end of snout white; com-
missure of the lips pale yellow.

Inhab: Pacific Ocean.

Detrurmcs opscurus’, Gray. The Dusky Dolphin.
Synonyms—TZursio obscurus, Gray, S. & W, p. 264.
Clymenia obscura, Gray, Suppl., p. 71.
Phocena australis, Peale, U. S. Expl. Exped.

Teeth #3 to pad about five in an inch.

Colour, black above, with oblique diverging streaks on the sides;
underneath whitish.
Inhab: South Pacific.

** Teeth between five and six in an inch. ‘

Detruinus Crymevs,’ Gray. The Clymene.
Synonyms—Delphinus Clymene, Gray, 8. & W., p. 249.
Clymenia normalis, Gray, Suppl., p. 70.

Teeth $3, small, nearly six in an inch.
Skull only known.
Inhab : ?

DELPHINUS LATERALIS*, Peale. The Side-banded Dolphin.
Synonyms—Delphinus lateralis, Peale U. 8. Expl. Exped. Gray.
ee W., p. 254. ’
Teeth $4
A dark-coloured lateral line, edged by spots, separates the colours of
the upper and under parts of the body, the latter being of a light

- i Compressus, compressed, and cauda, the tail.
? Blackish, dusky.

- 3 Clymene. :
4 Lateralis, belonging to the side.

80

o other bands, paler in colour; the
fin, and passes downwards
pectoral fin.

purplish grey; there are also tw

one branches from opposite the pectoral fi

and forwards ; the other connects the eye with the
Inhab: Pacific Ocean.

*** Tocth about six in an inch.

De.puinus micrors', Gray. The Small-headed Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus microps, Gray, 8. & W., p. 240.
Clymenia microps, Gray, Suppl., p. 69.
Teeth <<, six in an inch.
Described from skulls only.
Inhab: Coasts of Brazils.

Dexpuinus Styx, Gray. The Styx.

Synonyms—Delphinus Styx, Gray, 8. & W., p. 250.
Clymenia Styx, Gray, Suppl. 8. & W., p. 70.

Teeth 2% slender, six In an inch.
The skull very like to that of D. Euphrosyne, but the teeth more

slender.
Inhab: W. Africa.

Deteninus Teruyos, Gervais. The Tethyos.
Synonym—Delphinus Tethyos, Gray, 8. & W., p. 251.

Teeth—?
Inhab: North Sea—South Atlantic.

Deteuinus Atopz, Gray. The Alope.

Synonyms—Delphinus Alope, Gray, 8. & W., p. 252, 399.
Clymenia Alope, Gray, Suppl. p. 70.

48-49 . . .
Teeth iz, very slender, six in an inch.

Inhab.. Cape Horn.

The skull only known.

The organic remains of several species, closely allied to this family
and the preceding one, have frequently been discovered in the strata
of the Meiocene period. Of these it is sufficient to notice that

The Delphinus pseudodelphis, Gervais, is so similar in the form of
the skull and of the teeth to the Steno attenuatus that Dr. Gray
suggests they may be of the same species.

The Delphinus dationum, Laurillard, and the D. vermontanus, Z.
Thompson, approach in structure to the common dolphin ; and

The Delphinus Renovi, Laurillard, greatly resembles the modern
Delphinus longirostris.

1 wixpés, small, and oy, the face.

81

Genus Tursto,’ Gray.

Head and forehead convex, shortly beaked; beak of the skull short,
stout, broad, depressed, slightly less than # but more than } of the
entire length of the skull; skull large, thick, heavy, with a high
swollen brain cavity ; symphysis of mandible short, from 4 to + of the
length of mandibular ramus; teeth large; palate flat, not laterally
channelled.

Tvrsio truncatus,’ Montagu. Bottle-nose Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus truncatus, Montagu, Trans, Wern. Soc., London.
Delphinus tursio, O. Fabricius, Bonnaterre, Cuvier.
Lursio truncatus, Gray, 8. & W. p. 258; Suppl., p. 74.
Teeth £5 to oe three and a half to the inch; truncated when old.
Although this species is common in the European seas, yet there
exists a considerable variance in the descriptions with regard to the
colour of this animal, which probably may be accounted for by circum-
stances usually attendant upon ace, sex, or season. Jt has been
described as “black, whitish beneath”; “all blackish, the belly a
little paler ;” “uniform deep black,” and “black, deeply tinged with
purple, the sides dusky, belly greyish white.” The length is commonly
about 8 feet, but Cuvier states that individuals have been seen 15 feet
long. In the old animal the skull becomes much thickened, the beak
broad, flattened, and curved up at the tip in front.
Inhab: North Sea, the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Mediterranean, &e.

TURSIO EREBENNUS,® Cope.

Teeth #2, large, about two in an inch.
Inhab. Philadelphia.
See Cope, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Philadel*.

Tursio METIS, Gray. The Metis.
Synonym—Zursio metis, Gray, 8. & W., p. 256; Suppl., p. 74.

Teeth =, conical, acute, curved.

Skull globular ; beak thickish, conical, evenly tapering, upper part
convex.
“Inhab. West Africa. ; :

Dr. Gray describes this species from a skull obtained during the
vovage of the “ Erebus ” and “ Terror.”

1 Tursio, a fish like a dolphin.

2 truncatus, cut off.

3 épeBevvds, blackish, dusky.
Gq

82

Tursto Crmovocs,' Gray. The Cymodece.

Teeth Zx, moderate, slightly incurved ; rather more than three in an
inch,
This skull is very like that of T. metis, but smaller.

TuRSIO aBUSALAM, Riippell. The Abusalam.

Synonyms—Delphinus abusalam, Riippell.
Tursio abusalam, Gray. 8. & W., p. 261. Suppl. p. 74,

25 25 30-30
Teeth sez to io.

Black, below white, with small dark spots.
Inhab: Red Sea, Cape of Good Hope.

Tursio Eurynome, Gray. The Eurynome.
25-25

Teeth ss.

Tnhab: SouthSea. Bay of Bengal.

The skull is like that of Tursio truncatus, but the beak is longer,
more slender, and more rounded. The teeth also are smaller.

TuRsIo caTatanta, Gray. The Cape Melville Dolphin.

Teeth = to =e, front lower teeth worn away, truncated.

“The adult, which was a female, measured 73 feet in length, and
was of a very light lead-colour above and on the sides, gradually passing
into the dirty leaden-white of the lower parts, which were covered, as
also the flippers, with longitudinally elongated blotches of dark lead-
colour. Another specimen, also a female, but much smaller, was
exactly lead-colour, fading into whitish on the lower parts along the
belly. The sides were marked with small oblong spots of the same
colour as the back.” Ad‘ Gillivray.

Inhab: North-west Coast of Australia.

This genus is represented in the collection of the Australian Museum
by several fine skulls (one in particular from Wollongong), a mounted
specimen, and an entire skeleton of an adult; the two latter being
obtained from an animal captured in the waters of Port Jackson.

I am inclined to believe that the whole of these remains belong to
individuals of the same species, and that that species, provided it be
not the Tursio truncatus of the European Seas, is probably the one so
well described in the foregoing extract, by our late fellow-citizen Mr.
Macgillivray, and distinguished by Dr. Gray in his catalogue as Tursio
catalania.

The wonderful similarity which exists in the anatomy of the dolphins
of this group, and in the size and colour of the few actually examined
while yet in the living ‘state, renders it an almost hopeless task to

1 Greek name of a woman.

83

recognize with any degree of certainty that specific individuality, so
strongly insisted on in the able work so frequently cited. This diffi-
culty is, moreover, increased by the knowledge that some of the so-called
distinctive characters are possessed in common by all, while others are
so feebly developed that they may fairly be attributable more to the
varying conditions of life than to any essential structural quality.

I instance the worn-down or truncated teeth, a singularity, not the
special property of any one, but equally belonging to all of the very
aged; and to the slight deviations in the form of the cranium, which,
of themselves are so uncertain as to necessitate a continual revision of
the systematic arrangement.

Beyond these methods but little remains to evidence any specific
differences among this group, with the exception, perhaps, of “ locality,”
the latter presenting but a false criterion by which any correct idea
can be arrived at of aquatic animals, so wholly unrestrained by any
barrier in their range of habitat.

Genus LacEnonuyncuvs,' Gray.

Head convex, forehead low, gradually sloping into the beak; beak
short ; beak of the skull very short, from to slightly less than, half of
the entire length of the skull, broad, depressed, narrowed in front, and
bent up in front of the maxillary notch ; symphysis of mandible short,
between + and + of the length of the ramus; teeth moderately large.

“This genus is easily known from Delphinus by the lowness of the
forehead, the short and depressed form of the beak, the posterior
position of the dorsal fin, the body being attenuated behind, and by
the breadth and flat expanded form of the nose of the skull.” Gray,
8. & W. p. 268.

* Teeth three in an inch.
LAGENORHYNCHUS ALBIROSTRIS,’ Gray. The White-beaked Bottle-nose.

Synonyms—Delphinus albirostris, Gray, 1846.

Lagenorhynchus albirostris, Gray, 8. & W., p. 272; Suppl.,
319;

Teeth is,, large, three in aninch.

“Upper part and sides very rich deep velvet-black ; external cuticle
soft and silky, so thin and delicate as to be easily rubbed off ; the nose,
a well-defined line above the upper jaw, and the whole of the under
jaw and belly cream colour, varied with chalky white ; fins and tail
black.”

Tnhab: North Sea. FaroeIslands. Yarmouth.

1 adynvos a cup, a flagon, and fiyxos, a beak, hence Bottle-nose.
2 albus, white, and rostrum the beak.

84:

** Teeth four in an inch.
Laarnormyncivs eLectra, Gray. The Electra.

Synonyms—Layenorhynchus electra, Gray, 8. & W., p. 268.
Electra obtusa, Gray ; Suppl. p. 70.

Teeth 2-1 moderate, four in an inch.
Species described from a purchased skull.
Inhab: (?)

Lacevoruyncuus Asta, Gray. The Asia.

Synonyms—Layenoriynchus Asia, Gray, 8. & W., p. 269.
Electra Asia, Gray, Suppl. p. 76.

Tecth $= four in an inch.

Described from a skull only, which although the beak is rather more
attenuated and acute in front, Dr. Gray suggests that it may be only
a variety of the preceding species, the L. Electra,

Inhab: (°)

LAGENORHYNCHUS FUSIFORMIS,! Owen. The Spindle-shaped Dolphin.
Synonyms—Delphinus fusiformis, Owen. Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. vi,
p. 22.
Electra fusiformis, Gray. Suppl., p. 76.

Teeth in, about four in an inch.

The upper portion of the body is of a light lead colour, fading into
light ashy-grey on the belly, and unspotted. The dorsal and fore parts
of pectoral and caudal fins are much the darkest coloured. The length
was about six feet.

Inhab: Waltair, Vizigapatam, India.

Lageyoruyncuvs acutvs,’ Gray. Eschricht’s Dolphin.

Synonyms—Phocena acutus, Gray, 1828.
Delphinus leucopleurus, Nilsson.
Lagenorhynchus acutus, Gray, 8. & W., p. 270.
Electra acuta, Gray, Suppl, p. 76.

Teeth $4, about four in an inch.

Above black, lower part of the beak and the body, shining white;
a white band forms a line under the dorsal to the base of the tail;
above yellow, beneath white.

The beak of the skull is more slender, and the teeth more numerous
than shown in those of any other species of this genus, yet this dolphin
is considered by some writers the same as the Lencopleurus, both
being about the same size, bearing a resemblance in the distribution of
the coleuring, and inhabiting the same locality.

1 fusus, a spindle, &c.
2 aeutus, pointed, in allusion to the slender form of the beak of the skull.

85

LaGENORHYNCHUS BREVICEPS, Pucheran, The Short-headed
Lagenorhynchus.

Synonyms—Delphinus breviceps, Pucheran. Voy. Dumont d’Urville.
Lagenorhynchus breviceps, Gray, 8. and W., p. 271.
Electra breviceps, Gray, Suppl., p. 76.

Teeth a about four in an inch.
Blackish above, underneath white, pectoral fins dusky.
Inhab: Rio de la Plata,

*** Teeth five to six in an inch.
LaGErNORHYNCHUS LEUCOPLEURUS, Rasch. The White-sided Bottle-nose.

Synonyms—Delphinus tursio, Knox. 1888.
Delphinus leucopleurus, Rasch. 1848.
Lagenorhynchus leucopleurus, Gray, 8. and W., p. 278.
Leucopleurus arcticus, Gray, Suppl., p. 78.

Teeth gz, nearly five to the inch.

Above bluish black, beneath white with a large oblique grey or
white longitudinal streak on the hinder part of each side.

Of a female (the skeleton now in the Edinburgh Museum) of this
species, captured at the Orkneys in May, 1835, Mr. Knox gives the
following interesting particulars :—“‘ It weighed 14 stone. Length
from tip of beak to centre of tail, 77} inches; weight of skeleton, 74
Ibs. ; length of cranium, 15 inches; of spinal column, 55} inches, equal
to 703 inches.”

Inhab: North Sea, Orkney, Gulf of Christiana.

LaGENORHYNCHUS cLaNctLus, Gray. The Pacific Lagenorhynchus.
Synonyms—Lagenorhynchus clanculus, Gray, S. and W., p. 271.

Hector, Trans., N. Z. Institute, 1870, p. 27.
Electra clancula, Gray, Suppl., p. 77.

Teeth 2%, five in an inch.

LAGENORHYNCHUS CRUCIGERA, Gervais.
Synonyms—Lagenorhynchus crucigera, Gervais, Oib. Cet.

Electra erucigera, Gray, Suppl. p. 77.
Teeth (?)

Laarnoruyncuvs TurcouEa, Gray. The Thicolea.
Synonyms—Lagenorhychus Thicolea, Gray, 8. and W., p. 271.
Electra Thicolea, Gray, Suppl., p. 77.

Teeth =x, slender, curved, elongate, six in an inch.

Described from the skull only. :
Inhab. West Coast of North America,

86

LAGENORHYNCHUS CHRULEO-ALBUS, Meyen. The Bluish-white Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus ceruleo-albus, Meyen.
Lagenorhynchus ceruleo-albus, Gray, 8. and W., p. 268.
Delphinus albirostratus, Peale, Expl. Exped.

Teeth = about six in an inch.

Colour, “the back bluish, sides white, with oblique bluish streaks,
belly white,” in other specimens “ dark blue-grey ; fins and back nearly
black ; a dark line connects the corners of the mouth with the pectoral
fins ; front and sides dark grey, covered with small vermicular white
spots; end of snout, white; commissure of the lips pale yellow.”

Length from five and a half to six and a half feet.

Inhab. Pacific Ocean. East Coast of South America.

LagenorHYNcCHUS ? INTERMEDIUS', Gray. The Small Killer.

Synonyms—Delphinus intermedius, Gray, Ann. Phil., 1827.
Orca intermedia, Gray, 5. & W., p. 288.
Feresa intermedia, Gray, Supp., p. 78.

Teeth in, long, conical.
From a single skull in the British Museum.

Genus ORCAELLA,” Gray.

“Head blunt, rounded, very convex; body moderate; dorsal fin
moderate ; pectoral fin broad. Skull: brain case, sub-globular; beak
very short, about $ of the entire length of the skull, tapering, flat above ;
palate flat in front; rostral triangle very large, produced much in
front of the maxillary notch ; lower jaw projects beyond the upper one;
symphysis short ; teeth small, slender, conical.”

ORCAELLA BREVIROSTRIS,? Owen. The Short-beaked Killer.

Synonyms—Phocena brevirostris, Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. vi, p. 24.
Orea brevirostris, Gray, 8. & W., p. 285.
Oreaella brevirostris, Gray, Suppl., p. 80.
Teeth iwi, slender, conical.
Black ; body stout; dorsal fin sub-centrical.
Inhab : estuaries of the Ganges; Madras.
This species was first described in 1466, by Professor Owen, from the
skull of a young animal, which was cast ashore in the harbour of

Vizagapatam, on the east coast of India; but since this period it has
been observed by Dr. Anderson and Mr. Elliott. Tt is remarkable for

1 Tutermediate.
2 Diminutive of Orca.
» brevis, short, and rostrum, beak,

87

the very short beak, for the slender, cone-like teeth, and in the living
state for the round, almost globular top of the head, indicating its
distinct nature and an approach towards the Globiocephalide.

ORCAELLA FLUMINALIS,' Anderson, M.S. The Irawady Dolphin.
Synonyms—Dolphin of the Irawady, Anderson, P.Z.S., 1870, pp. 220,
544.

Orcaella fluminalis, Gray, Suppl., p. 80.
Body slender, dirty white.

Piece a river Irawady, deep channels, from 300 to 1,000 miles from
the sea.

Genus Orca,” Rondelet. The Killer.

Head rounded, scarcely beaked; dorsal fin high, faleate, central ;
pectoral fin broad, ovate; skull rounded; beak short, about one-half the
entire length of skull; lower jaw strong, thick and solid in front, broad
on the sides ; symphysis moderate in length ; teeth large, acute, flattened
transversely, incurved at their tips.

On examining various skulls of the genera Orea and Pseudorea in
our Museum, I was induced, from the variations presented, to analyze
the tabulated admeasurements of others of various growths, recorded
by Owen, Gray, Flower, Gervais, &c., as well as the excellent illustra-
tions in Van Beneden’s work on the Cetacea, now in the course of
publication. From this research I arrived at the conviction that age
and sex, assisted by occasional individual peculiarities, have produced
many of those material deviations in the cranial structure which are
so pointedly adduced as denoting distinct specific characters.

In illustration of this assertion,—select from either of these two
genera (of course of the same species) the lower jaws of old and young
animals, and it will be found by their comparison that in old age the
length of the symphysis, the solidity of the adjoining parts, and the
posterior span at the condyles, have respectively assumed proportions
greatly in excess of those which might reasonably have been anticipated
by a computation derived by rule of three from the condition of the
similar parts of the young animal.

This additional massiveness of bone, and extra width of the grasping
power of the mandible, beyond a proportionate increase in its length,
would necessitate a corresponding change in the form of the cranium,
sufficient to present a marked contrast between the skulls of the very
aged and of the young adult.

1 fluminalis, of or belonging to a river.
? Orca, the name given by Pliny to a large dolphin

88

Orca auaprator, Bonnaterre. The Killer.

Synonyms—Delphinus orca, Linneus.
Delphinus gladiator, Bonnaterre.
Delphinus grampus, Owen,
Orca gladiator, Sundevall; Gray, 8. & W., p. 279.

Ardluksoak is the name of the Greenlanders for the male,
and Aidluik for the female.

The males are much larger than the females.

Colour black above, shading into white on the abdomen, with usuall
a more or less developed white patch above and somewhat behind the
eye.
vThe size of the adult males may be estimated at from 19 to 25 feet
in lenvth, with a girth varying from 10 to 12 feet; but aged animals
have been captured which have measured 30 feet long. The body is
elongated and muscular, exhibiting a structure highly expressive of
speed and enormous strength.

NORTHERN VARIETIES.

Orca STENORHYNCHA, Gray, Suppl. 8. & W., p. 90.

Tecth Hi; length of skull, 35 to 87 inches.

Colour of animal black; circumscribed spot behind the eye; spot on
belly ; and under side of tail white; length 21 feet 3 inches.

Tnhab: North Sea.

Orca Latirostris,’ Gray, Suppl. 8. & W., p. 91.

Skull very similar to that of Orea capensis, but much smaller, and
distinguishable from the skull of the Orca stenorhyneha “by the
smaller size and broader, rounder nose.”

Inhab: North Sea.

Orca RECTIPINNA, Cope, Pro. Acad. Nat. Sc., Philad., 1869, p. 12.

Differs from the Orea stenorhyncha of Gray, and the Orca ater of
Cope, by having no white spot behind the eye.

Orca ATER, Cope, Pro. Acad. Nat. Se., Philad., 1869, p. 92.

Is known from being black above and below, but with a white spot
behind the eye.
Inhab: Oregon, Aleutian Islands.

1 gladiator, a hector, a bully.
2? From otevds, narrow, and puyxos, beak.
3 latus, wide, broad, and rostrum, beak.

89

Orca ancricus, Von Beneden and Gervais, Osteogr. Cet.

Skull, 24 inches in length.
Inhab: North Sea, Faroe Islands.

Orca Evropxvs, Van Beneden and Gervais, Osteogr. Cet.
de U Atlantic: teeth FE; length of skull, 86 inches.
de Mediterranée: length of skull, 24 inches.

SOUTHERN VARIETIES.
Orca capensis, Gray, S. & W., p. 283, Suppl, p. 90.
Synonyms—Delphinus globiceps, Owen.
Delphinus orca, Owen, Brit. Foss. Mamm.
Grampus, Bennett, Whaling Voyage.

Teeth Fh, Gray ; in, Wan Beneden.

Length of skull, 863 to 37 inches, Gray ; 42 inches, Van Beneden.

Colour similar to that of the Orca gladiator.

Dr. Gray observes, in page 285, “the examination of the skeleton, and
especially of the skull, shows that they (Orca gladiator of the British
coast, and Orca capensis) are quite distinct”; whereas Professor Owen,
in his elaborate analysis of the same animals, concludes his strictures
with the equally strong opinion: “The slight differences noticeable in
the skull chiefly depend on the muscular attachment, and are of a kind
to characterize varieties—not to establish specific distinctions.” As I
entertain no belicf in the theory of limited locality, particularly when
applied to such powerful beings, I adopt, without hesitation, the view
suggested by Prof. Owen, and consider the O. capensis as a variety only.

Orca Arricina, Gray, Suppl. 8. & W,, p. 91.

Skull, 24 inches in length.
Inhab: Algoa Bay.
Orca Macrtranica, Burmeister, Ann. & Mag., Nat. Hist. Gray,
Suppl. 8. & W.,, p. 92.
“ This species, according to the figure, is very like Orca latirostris.”
Inhab : Patagonia. :
Oxzca Tasmanica, Gray, Suppl. 8. & W,, p. 92.
Skull, about 32 inches in length.
Inhab : Tasmania.
Opuysta (Orca) Pactrica, Gray, Suppl. 8. & W., p. 93.
Synonyms—Delphinus orca, Eydoux.
i Orca capensis, Gray, 8. & W., p. 283.

Teeth ?
“ Intermasillaries very narrow, slightly dilated in front ; brain-cavity
broad ; occiput deeply concave ; lower jaw very broad on the sides, very

thick and solid in front.”

90

A very fine mandible in the Australian Museum belongs, I think, to
this new genus, for it is unusally “very broad on the sides, very thick
and solid in front”; to which I may add, and comparatively very wide
apart from condyle to condyle. I can, however, trace in it no radical
characters, beyond those I attribute to the natural results of age.

This lower jaw presents the following particulars :—Entire length of
ramus, 33 in. 9 lines. Teeth 2%, very perfect; anterior and posterior
pairs small, respectively increasing in size towards the central portion of
the tooth-line, where they become very large, conical, acute, and slightly
incurved at their tips, and towards the base flattened transversely ; sym-
physis in length, 8 in.; height of ramus at coronoid process, 10 in. ;
length of tooth-line from tip to posterior edge of last tooth, 16 in. ;
posterior spread of jaw, meaured from outward edges of the condyles,
24 in. 4 lin.

The owner of this formidable mandible must have possessed dimen-
sions in other portions of its structure equal to those entertained by
the huge Orca capensis described by Van Beneden and Gervais, and
greatly exceeded in magnitude, not only all of Dr. Gray’s accredited
species of the genus, but that of his Ophysia pacifica.

Where the sexes assume such widely differeat growths, why may not
the larger skull in our museum, and the smaller one of the O. pacifica
be fairly considered as sexual characteristics of the same species, of
which the individuals have been so fortunate as to reach an unusually
mature age.

Inhab: North and South Pacific Ocean.

Whatever differences of opinion (and they are great) that may exist
among zoologists as to the number of species, all bestow upon the
members of the family the qualities of vast strength, great ferocity,
and an insatiable appetite. Pliny, more than 1,800 years ago, recorded
the ferocious habits of this rapacious whale, which Linneus', Otho
Fabricius, Nilsson, and other naturalists, have fully confirmed.

From the more recent observations of reliable men, I select the fol-
lowing interesting accounts of the habits of the killers. Captain Holbdll
states that, “in the year 1827 I was myself an eye-witness of a great
slaughter performed by these rapacious animals. A shoal of Belugas had
been pursued by these blood-thirsty animals into a bay in the neighbour-
hood of Godhavn, and were there literally torn to pieces by them.
Many more of the Belugas were killed than eaten, so that the Green-
landers, besides their own booty, got a good share of that of the killers.
In the year 1830, a large Krepokak (Megaptera longimana) was over-
powered by an Orca, in the neighbourhood of Narparsok, according to
the statements of the Greenlanders, and torn to pieces after it was dead.
Almost fifteen barrels of the blubber, floating about at the place where
the struggle had taken place, fell to the share of the Greenlanders. It
is principally the blubber that is the most coveted food of the killers,

1 Balenarum Phocarumque tyrannus, quas turmatim aggreditur.”

91

not the tongue, as I have stated in several places. In this Krepokak
especially, the tongue was found untouched, and was afterwards flensed
by the Greenlanders.” “ They are able to swallow whole porpoises, as
well as seals, even very large individuals, four at least immediately after
one another (according to Nilsson’s observation), and in the course of a
few days as many as twenty-seven individuals ; nor do they fear to attack
and tear to pieces the very largest whalebone whales, in order to satisfy
their hunger on the blubber.’”

Mr. R. Brown, who, from his position in the Arctic Regions, and
long experience among the northern whales, must be regarded as a good.
authority, also notices in the Proc. Zool. Socy., 1868, that “ the Aidluik
is only seen in the summer-time along the whole coast of Greenland.
Wherever the white whale, the right whale, or the seals are found,
there is also their ruthless enemy, the Killer.2 The white whale and
seals often run ashore in terror of this Cetacean, and I have seen seals
spring out of the water when pursued by it.”” “Though subsisting chiefly
on large fishes, they will not hesitate to attack the largest whalebone
whales, and are able to swallow whole, large porpoises and seals.” “IT
know of a case in which they attacked a white-painted herring-boat in
the Western Islands, mistaking it for a Beluga.”

The Southern Killers have similar habits; they associate in groups,
and follow up their prey, the larger in the more open ocean, the smaller
in bays and shallower waters.

Even to the most fastidious imagination, not hopelessly prepossessed,
can there be presented any possible barrier which would prevent beings,
endowed with such physical powers, emigrating, when overstocked, to
other feeding grounds, and thus, in the course of generations, spreading
out into families over the face of the ocean?

Genus Pszuporca,? Reinhardt.

The generic characters are similar to those of the genus Orca, with
the exception that the dorsal fin is moderate, and the pectoral fin small,
faleate, not of that great breadth so peculiar to the larger killers. The
mandible is strong, but does not exhibit at its front the depth and
solidity of that of the Orca. The array of teeth is even more for-
midable from their strength and solidity, although the animals carrying
them are much smaller than the foregoing genus.

PsEuDORCA cRASSIDENS,' Owen. The Lincolnshire Killer.

Synonyms—Phocena crassidens, Owen, Brit. Foss. Mamm.,
Pseudorea crassidens, Reinhardt, Gray, 8. & W., p. 290,
and Suppl, p. 80.

1 Eschricht on the Northern species of Orca. Ray Society—1866, p. 168.

2“ They (the Grampus of the South Seas) occur in herds, and their appearance
is supposed to indicate the resorts.of the Cachalots.” Bennett, Whaling Voyage.

3 False Orca.

4 crassus, thick, and dens, tooth.

92

The English name is derived from the discovery, in 1840, of the
fossil remains, in the fens of Lincolnshire, of a whale, of which the
living representative was then unknown. The skull, shortly after the
discovery, was fully described by Prof. Owen, in the “ British Fossil
Mammalia.”

Twenty years subsequently, M. Reinhardt, a Danish naturalist,
found a species of whale existing in the northern seas, which, by the
careful examination of its skeleton, he ascertained to be identical with
Owen's Pscud. crassidens.

“T therefore believe,” observes M. Reinhardt, “ that we must really
acknowledge this Phocena erassidens of Owen to be the dolphin
strandcd on our coasts ; however strange it may seem that our first
knowledge of a Cetacean, of which great shoals are still in our time
roamins about in our Northern Sea, should have come to us through
an individual which thousands of years ago found its resting place on
a sea bottom, now forming part of the soil of England.”

There were two of these whales stranded on the shore near Asnes,
on the Danish coast, and they measured 14 and 19 feet respectively.

Teeth =", large, conical ; rather acute.

Colour—black, paler below.

Tuhab: North Sea.

SOUTHERN VARIETY.
PseUDORCA MERIDIONALIS,' Flower. The Tasmanian Killer.

Synonyms—Pseudorca meridionalis, Flower, Pro. Zool. Soc., 1864;
Gray, 8. & W., p. 291; Suppl., p. 79.
Llack Grampus of whalers, Crowther.

Teeth in, large, conical, acute ; smallest in front, largest in the central
portion. Symphysis of mandible nearly } of the entire length of
the ramus.

Colour, black, with the under portions whitish.

Males much larger than the females, and similar in size to the
animals of the preceding species.

Inhab: South Sea: coasts of Tasmania.

«To find distinctive characters to separate the present species from
O. crassidens is a matter of greater difficulty.” “The beak is much more
pointed at the extremity, and the premaxillaries arc of different form.”
“T think that these are sufficient, together with the creat improbability
of the same species being found in such widely different regions, to
justify my regarding the small grampus from Tasmania, however familiar
to the inhabitants of that country, as a species new to zoological
ae and imposing upon it the name of Orca (Pseudorca) meri-

ionalis.”

1 Southern.

93

The skulls in the Australian Museum of the Tasmanian killer vary
somewhat in themselves, and neither of them exhibit the differentiating
character of a more pointed- beak than that possessed by the Pseud.
crassidens, in so marked a manner as the figure in the Proc.. Zool. Soc.,
London, of the skull in the Royal College of Surgeons. Indeed, one
of them, by the more rounded form of the terminal portion of the beak,
assumes in its cast of features a position intermediate between the
animals described by Messrs. Reinhardt and Flower; thus lessening, by
the gradual approach to cranial similitude, the slight specific distinctions
presented by the examination of two skulls only by the latter zoologist.

Setting aside these trivial shades of facial disagreement, particularly
in a class of animals notorious for cranial variations, and taking into
consideration that in all the essential qualities of osseous structure, in
the size, in the colour, and in the habits of the living animal, both so-
called species intimately agree, I amirresistibly led to the conclusion
that the northern and southern animals are identical, or at the most,
but varieties caused possibly by some lengthened period of isolation
from others of their kindred.

“The Tasmanian killer, black grampus, or peaked-nose blackfish, is
usually met with in shoals ranging from fifty to one hundred each, and
always in company with the smaller kinds of the delphinide and cow-
fish” : I presume, on the principle “ wheresoever the carcass is, there
will the eagles be gathered together.” “It is a peculiarly wary
cetacean, and I never heard of any having been captured, with the
exception of one fastened to at day-dawn in the North Pacific Ocean,
by an American whaler, supposed at the time to be an ordinary school
sperm whale.” ?

A good mounted skeleton of this animal in our Museum gives an
entire length of 16 feet, that of the skull as somewhat exceeding 25
inches, and of the beak measured from a line drawn between the
maxillary notches to the tip as 114 inches.

Genus STEREODELPHIS,”’ Gervais.

Teeth rather large, with short, nearly hemispherical crowns.

Stereodelphis brevidens, Dubreuil et Gervais.

The fossil remains of this, the only species, were found in the soft
tertiary sandstone at Hérault, one of the departments of France.

Genus Puocmya,?

Teeth permanent, compressed, sharp-edged, rounded at their tips;
head rounded, scarcely beaked, without any separating furrow; muzzle
uniformly rounded to the extremity, where it gently curves upwards,

1 The information respecting the habits of the Tasmanian Killer, contained in these
two quotations, was kindly supplied by my friend W. L. Crowther, M.D., M.L.C, of
Hobart Town.

2 grepeds solid, and deadgis, dolphin.

3 @wkaiva, w porpoise.

94

forming in its union with the gums a thickened pad, resembling lips ;
when the mouth is closed, the upper lip overlaps the under one evenly
all round; pectoral fin elongate, obtusely pointed ; dorsal fin central,
slightly spined or tuberculated anteriorly.

Paocmzya communis, Brookes. The common Porpoise.

Synonyms—Delphinus phocena, Linn.; Bonnat; Desm.; Cuvier ;
Bell; Turton; Fleming ; Nilsson.
Phocena communis, Brooks; Gray, 8S. & W., p. 802,
Suppl. 81.

Phocena tuberculifera, Gray, S. and W., p. 304.
Teeth =. compressed, rather stout.

Colour of the upper portion of the body, a deep bluish black, fading
away on the sides, and becoming silvery white on the abdomen. In
length it ranges from four to six and a half feet, being probably the
smallest cetacean known.

Inhab : North Sea, mostly in shore, frequently ascending rivers as far
as the waters continue salt.

The porpoise was well known to Pliny, who described its form
accurately ; and in our time may be seen in great abundance, coasting
along the shores of the North Sea from the Mediterranean to the icy
regions of high latitudes ; but hitherto it has not been observed on our
side of the equator.

The females are said to carry their young six months, and that the
cub at birth measures about 20 inches long. Mr. Knox, indeed, gives
us the particulars of one taken from a mother, killed in the Firth of
Forth, of less than 5 feet in length, which actually measured 27 inches,
or considerably more than one-third of the entire length of the parent.
The young are carefully attended to by their dams ; and it requires
about ten years before they attain to full maturity.

In their every-day habits, porpoises resemble greatly the dolphins,
being equally fleet and voracious. Vast troops of them herd together,
keeping in shore, in pursuit of the periodic shoals of herrings, mackerel,
and other fish, to, as it may be easily imagined, their great destruction.

These animals have been known to take a bait, and some have thus
been captured by the hook, although, in most instances, they prove too
strong for the line. This kind of fishing reminds one of the giant
angling, possibly derived from this souree—* He sat upon a rock, and
bobbed for whale.”

1 communis, common.

* From the French “ pore-poisson,” hog-fish. The porpoise is known to British
sailors by the names of sea-pig and herring-hog; to the French, marsuin ; to the
Swedes, marsvin ; and to the Germans, meerschwein.

95

Family V. DELPHINAPTERID#.

Without dorsal fin; head rounded, shelving; pectoral fin ovate
beak of the skull depressed, tapering, rounded at the end; cervical
vertebra more or less anchylosed (?) ; mandibular symphysis short; blade-
bone connected to the collar and breast bones by unusually enlarged
Spinal processes.

Genus DELpHinarrervs, Lacepede.

Teeth small, slender, conical acute ; pectoral fin rather slender ; beak
of the skull elongate ; palate flat, not laterally grooved behind ; blade-
bone very broad, nearly semicircular ; lower jaw longest.

Dexpaiwaprervs Peroni, Lacepede. Péron’s Dolphin.
Synonyms—Delphinus Péronizt, Lacep.; Cuvier, &c.
Delphinapterus leucorhamphus, Péron.
Delphinapterus Péronii, Lesson ; Jardine, Nat. Lib. ; Gray,
8. & W., p. 276, Suppl. p. 72.
Teeth ae to <8, small, curved inwards.

Colour, upper portion of the body deep black ; the beak, the inferior
portion of the sides, including the pectoral fins, with the exception of a
brown-black spot on their hinder margins, and the belly, of a pure and
dead white ; the two colours distinctly parted from each other. Length,
6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches.

Inhab: South Atlantic ; New Guinea.

Genus NEOMERIS, Gray.

Teeth small, compressed, slightly notched ; pectoral fin ovate, falcate;
beak of the skull short ; blade-bone large, triangular.

NEoMERIS? PHOCZNOIDES, Dussumier. The Neomeris.

Synonyms—Delphinus phocenoides, Dussum., Cuvier.
Delphinapterus melas, Temminek.
Neomeris phocenoides, Gray, 8. & W., p. 806; Suppl., 82.

16-16 20-20 .
Teeth iz to sm, compressed, oblique.

Colour, black. Length, 4 feet.
Inhab: Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Japan, Cape of Good Hope.

* delphinus, dolphin, and trrepos, without (dorsal) fin.

96

Neowents (2) porearis. Peale.

Synonyms—Delphinapterus borealis, Peale, Expl. Exped., 1848.
Delphinapterus (?) borealis. Gray, 8. & W., p. 277.

Black, with a white lanceolate spot on the breast, which is extended
in a narrow line to the tail. Length, 4 feet.

Inhab. North Pacific Ocean.

“ While in the water it appears to be entirely black, the white line
being invisible. It is remarkably quick and lively in its motions,
frequently leaping entirely out of the water, and, from its not having a
dorsal fin, is sometimes mistaken for a seal.""—Peale.

Mr. Cassin remarks of this animal “it appears to us probable that it
does not belong to the genus Delphinapterus, or to the group of which
D. Péroniiis thetype.” To which Dr. Gray adds—“this species appears
to resemble Delphinapterus only in the absence of the dorsal fin, in which
respect it also resembles the Beluga, of which it is probably a species.”

From the diminutive size and general black colour of this dolphin,
I am inclined to place it as a species of the genus Neomeris, that is, if
it be not identical with the previous one, their ascertained habitats
being within a few degrees of the same parallels of latitude.

Iam strengthened in this supposition by the result of Dr. Gray’s
comparison between two skulls of the N. phocenoides, one from
Japan, now in the Leyden Museum, and the other from the Cape of
Good Hope, in the Paris collection—* the skulls are very much alike, but
they may be two species, characterized by the number of the teeth.”

Taking it for granted that the various habitats assigned to these
unmistakeable animals have been correctly ascertained, I am impelled
to ask, why limit to within a very narrow compass the rovings of the
Orca capensis or pacifica, the largest and fiercest of the “ gladiators”
of the ocean, when such extensive powers of locomotion are yielded
without remonstrance to the species of this diminutive group? “TI
doubt,” writes Dr. Gray, “its (the skull of the O. pacifica, obtained
by Captain Delville, R.N., from the North Pacific), being from the
North Pacific, as I believe there is a skull of the same species in the
Paris Museum, collected by M. Eydoux, and said to have come from
Chili, South Pacific.’ Why not? This is surely straining at a gnat,
and swallowing a camel.

The Delphinapterus Péronii agrees in cranial and dental structure
with the common dolphin, while the Neomeris phocenoides presents on
these points the characteristics of the common porpoise, and, both in
their want of the dorsal fin and in the possession of the large spinal
processes of the blade-bone, approach the White Whale of the Northern
Seas: the group thus affording a convenient connecting link between
the rapacious and the more timid of the cetacea.

97

(%.) Trvrnopnaca.! Squid-eaters.
B, Teeth deciduous, numerous in front part only of both jaws.

Family VI. BELUGIDE?

Without dorsal fin; head rounded in front, small, scarcely beaked,
pectoral fins small, sub-oval, thick, powerful; skull, very convex,
caused by the hinder wing of the cheek-bone bending over the eye-
cavity, instead of spreading out horizontally ; teeth early, deciduous,
conical, oblique, frequently truncated ; cervical vertebre usually free ;
blade-bone with large spinal processes.

Betuea Caropoy,® Linneus. The Beluga or White Whale.
Synonyms— Physeter catodon, Linn.
Beluga catodon, Gray, 1850, 8. & W., p. 807, Suppl, p. 94.
Delphinapterus Beluga. Uacepede. Scoresby.
The Beluga or White Whale, Jardine, Nat. Lib.,vol.7,p. 204.

Teeth 2 to most frequently , conical.

The colour of the adult animal is throughout of a creamy white,
whence is derived the name White Whale of the English sailors, and
Hvitfisk of the Scandinavian seamen. When young, however, the
general colour is much darker, being either of a slaty-grey, mottled
with brownish spots, or of an uniform bluish tint; being thus readily
distinguishable among the grown-up animals of the herd.

The old attain in length to as much as 20 feet, but the examples
usually met with, measure from 13 to 14 feet.

The form of the body somewhat resembles two unequal cones joined
at their bases, the shorter one being placed in front. The head is
small and lengthened, and the tail thick and powerful. The union of
these parts presents a frame replete with graceful symmetry, and well
adapted for that velocity for which this species is so celebrated.

The food of the white whale consists of cuttle-fish, large prawns, and
of the smaller kinds of fish, such as cod, haddock, &c., so abundantly
distributed over the Northern Seas.

Inhab: Higher latitudes of the Northern Seas, principally within
the Arctic circle.

The habits of this fine species of whale are decidedly gregarious,
commonly frequenting the estuaries of the larger rivers, and very rarely
seen far from land. It is found most plentifully in Hudson’s Bay,
Davis Straits, and in certain portions of the Northern coasts of America
and Asia. During the winter large herds exist along the coast of
Danish Greenland, but, as summer approaches, they travel towards the
north, feeding along the western shores of Davis Straits up to the head
of Baffin’s Bay, their range of habitat corresponding greatly with that
of the Right Whale.

1 revOos, calamary or squid, and ¢dyw, I eat.

2 Beluga, from the Russian Bieluga, signifying White-fish. :

3 drw, under, below, and 680d: tooth, in allusion to the teeth being found only in
the lower jaw of the sperm whale, which the beluga, but only in some other respects,
resembles.

H

98

Their blast, according to Mr. Brown, is not unmusical, and, when
under the water, they emit a peculiar whistling sound which might be
mistaken for the whistle of a bird, and on this account the seamen often
call them sea-canaries.

The white whale is eagerly sought for by the natives of these inhos-
pitable climes, and many are captured by strong nets spread across the
entrance of inlets, or partially so, of the various sounds between the
numerous islands.

The natives consider this whale as, next to the seal, the most valuable
animal in administering to their wants, for there is scarcely a single part
of the body which they do not convert to some beneficial purpose.

The flesh in the fresh state affords savoury and nutritious food for
their immediate wants, and when dried, an ample store of supply for
the long and dreary winter; the oil, although not abundant, is of the
best and finest quality, suitable for drinking, cooking, and burning ;
the finer portions of the internal membranes are used, instead of glass,
for glazing the windows, and the coarser for bed furniture; the skin,
duly prepared, offers an excellent substitute for leather ; and the sinews
furnish strong thread and string for the purposes of sewing or fastening
their various utensils.

The whalers rarely kill the Beluga, because the swiftness, agility,
and resistance displayed by it, when struck, cause more trouble than
the yield of oil is worth.

Although the Beluga migrates towards warmer waters during the
intense severity of the Arctic winter, only a few stray wanderers have,
as yet, been seen so far to the south as the Frith of Forth.

Dr. Gray considers the following, only as varieties of the B. catodon :—

Beluga rhinodon, Cope. Arctic Seas.
Beluga declivis, Cope. Artic Seas.

Beluga angustata, Cope. Arctic Seas.
Beluga Canadensis, Wyman. Canada.

Betvea Kine. The Australian Beluga.

Synonyms—Delphinus (Delphinapterus), Gray, 1827.
Beluga Kingii, Gray, 8. & W., p. 809, Suppl. ; p. 95.
Teeth , small, hooked.
Inhab. Coasts of New Holland.

The skull of this dolphin was presented, in 1826, forty-six years ago,
to the British Museum, by the late Admiral King, and up to the present
period no further discoveries of its existence have been made. It is,
theretore, quite sufficient to record that a peculiar whale, supposed to
belong to the genus Beluga, still lives in our seas, and that the acqui-
sition of other examples would be desirable to confirm, or otherwise, its
generic character.

99
Family VII. GLOBIOCEPHALID&:?

Head much swollen, globe-shaped ; forehead very prominent; beak
scarcely visible ; dorsal fin falcate, central ; pectoral fins long, narrow,
placed near each other on the chest; skull broad across supra-orbital
ridge; intermaxillary bones very wide ; beak slightly over half of the
entire length of skull; mandibular symphysis, very short (+ length of
ramus, G. macrorhynchus) ; cervical vertebra, anchylosed ; blade-bone
triangular, with large spinal processes; teeth conical, large, early
deciduous.

Genus GLOBIOcEPHALUS,” Lesson.

“ Skull,—palate flat; beak rather tapering in front.”’—Gray.
GLOBIOCEPHALUS' MELAS, Traill. The Deductor, or Caa’ing® Whale.
Synonyms— Gilobiocephalus melas, Traill.
Cachalot svineval, Lacepede, 1804.
Delphinus globiceps, Cuvier, 1812.
Delphinus deductor, Scoresby, 1820.
Globiocephalus deductor, Lesson, 1827. Jardine, 1843.
Grampus globiceps, Gray, 1828.
Globiocephalus svineval, Gray, 8.&W. p.314. Suppl. p. 83.
The Caving Whale, Neill, 1886.

Teeth, Hi to Lae rarely os slightly curved at their tips.

Inhab.: North Sea.

Colour, smooth and shining jet-black on the upper parts of the body,
somewhat paler underneath, relieved by a white streak from the throat
along the abdomen. The length varies from 6 to 26 feet; the
pectoral fins are very long, 6 to 8 feet each, and narrow, being the
reverse to the exceedingly broad swimming paw of the O. gladiator.

The food of the deductor is similar to that of the preceding animal,
namely, cuttle-fish, crustaceans and small fish ; and when the aliment is
plentiful, it becomes exceedingly fat, and affords a large quantity of
excellent and valuable oil.

In their habits the members of this family appear to be the most
sociable of the cetacea, herding together in large flocks; and in their
disposition very timid and wholly inoffensive. “In all instances on
record of their being discovered at sea, and hunted to land, the chase
has been free from danger, and a few frail boats and most ineffective
weapons, with shouts and noise in the water, were sufficient to drive
them from their native element to their destruction.”

1 globus, a globe, and xepaay, head.

2 deductor, a follower (when one is driven ashore the rest follow).

3 From the scotch, caa, signifying 1o drive, being the ordinary method of their
capture, viz., by driving them ashore.

100

These gentle animals, when excited into a state of confusion and
alarm, are highly characterized by an overpowering instinct which
compels them to follow any leader without reference to age or
experience, although by so doing they are led into certain danger.

The nature of this impulsive force may be familiarly exemplified by
the similar habit entertained by sheep: thus, when a flock is required
to enter into any strange place of confinement, or to pass along the
narrow stage in order to reach the deck of a vessel, it is necessary that
one of them be caught and slowly dragged to its destination, the louder
the bleating the better, when the whole lot will precipitately follow ;
go, with this species, if one individual be wounded and take the ground,
the others will blindly rush on to their fate; or, rather, as in the
method of stranding a shoal, “the men engaged in the hunt, at first
succeeded in stranding only one of the young cubs; it immediately set
up loud cries, which were heard by the rest, and an old one, probably
its mother, speedily came to its relief; but she came not alone, the
whole flock followed, and were thus made an easy prey.”

GioBiocEPHALUS MAcronnyNcuvs,; Gray. The South Sea Black-fish.

Synonyms—Globiocephalus macrorhynchus, Gray, 8.&W. p. 320 ; Suppl.
p. Sk.

Blackfish of the South Sea Whalers, Bennett, Wh. Voy.
p. 2383 ; Crowther, P.Z.S., 1864.

Tecth &8, subeylindrical, variable in number.

6-8?

Colour, black. Length, from 16 to 20 feet.—‘ Head, thick, square,
and short; the snout blunt, and but little prominent. The angles of
the lips are curved upwards, giving the physiognomy an innocent,
smiling expression.” —Bennett, Whaling Voyage, p. 233.

The museum skulls of this species correspond closely in every
characteristic formation and in size with the particulars given of those
of tho G. melas, and I feel incapable to point out any salient
character by which to separate the species.

Theso animals are abundant in our seas, and, according to Mr.
Bennett, roam about the ocean in very large troops, and appear to
inhabit the greater portion of the aqueous globe, uninfluenced by the
remoteness or vicinity of the land. He observed examples in many
parallels of latitude between the equator and 50° N. and 35° S., in the
central part of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as off the
coast of California, and in the Indian Archipelago. ‘“ Sperm whalers,”
continues Mr. Bennett, “ often attack this species with their boats, in
order to obtain a supply of oil for ship consumption ; some risk, however,
attends their capture, for when harpooned, they will sometimes leap
into a boat. A Blackfish of average size will produce from 30 to 35
gallons of oil, which in its most recent state hag a dark colour and
an unpleasant odour.”

1 uaxpds, broad, and Juyxos, beak.

101

Dr. Crowther more recently communicates, in the Proc. Zool. Soc.
London, the following information, which materially adds to our
knowledge of the habits of this cetacean :-—*This species is in reality a
miniature Sperm Whale in its habits, &c., feeding upon the same food,
geographically occupying the same localities as the Sperm Whale, fol-
lowing the great equatorial currents, so long as they retain their warmth,
and met with in the greatest numbers in the southern hemisphere at
those points where the equatorial meet the polar currents, eddies
being formed in which no doubt the squid collects. I am not aware
that Blackfish preys upon anything but squid’; it is essentially gre-
garious, countless hordes being met with where food is abundant.
Length, 12 to 15 feet; diamater, 3 to 4 feet; weight, 2 to 3 tons,
the former about the average. Oil, the only kind that will mix with
sperm.”

Several other animals, said to be of the genus Globiocephalus, have
been claimed as distinct species by zoologists; they may be so, but no
distinctive quality of any importance has been pointed out, beyond
those variations incident to every one of the cetacea, and perpetually
exhibited among the best known and most familiar of the family.

These are—
affinis, Gray. North Sea.
intermedius, Harlan. Coasts of North America.

Edwardsii, A. Smith. Coasts of Cape of Good Hope.
Grayi, Burmeister. Buenos Ayres.

Scammonii, Cope. North Pacific.

. Indicus, Blyth. Bay of Bengal.

Sieboldii, Gray. Japan.

. Sinensis, Blyth. China.

. Sibo, Gray. Japan.

The foregoing list is compiled from Dr. Gray’s Supplement to the
Seals and Whales. pp. 84, 85.

AADDAQAOO

Q

Genus SPHHROCEPHALUS,’ Gray.

“ Palate of the skull convex ; beak oblong, of nearly the same width
the greater part of its length.” Gray.

SPHHROCEPHALUS’ rncRassatus,’ Gray. The Thick-palated Deductor.

Synonym—Spherocephalus incrassatus, Gray, 8. & W., p. 324; Suppl.
p. 85.

9-9 10-10
Teeth 53 or a.

Inhab : British Seas.

1 Dr. Crowther writes to me, that subsequently to this assertion, he finds that in
addition to the squid, the black-fish consume large quantities of fish and crustacea ;
for in the agonies of death, conger eels, crabs, crayfish, &c., have been ejected from
their stomachs.

2 gpaipa, a globe, and xepadn, the head,

3 Thickened.

102

A single skull in the British Museum has enabled Dr. Gray to
create the foregoing genus :—“ It is so distinct, both in the form of the
nose of the skull, in the width of the maxillary bones, and more
especially in the thickness and convexity of the palate of the front
part of the skull, from the species which have hitherto been described,
and the differences are so visible, that Mr. Edward Gerrard selected
it as a distinct species, as soon as he saw it.”

C. Long produced spiral tusk in upper jaw of male only.
Family VIII. MONODONTID&.*

Without dorsal fin; head short, rounded in front, scarcely beaked ;
pectoral fins sub-oval, much longer than broad; skull very convex, the
hinder wing of the cheek-bone bending over the eye-cavity ; blade-bone
with large spinal processes; cervical vertebre, usually free; costo-
sternal ribs ossified ; teeth few in both jaws, early deciduous, with the
exception of one in the left side of the upper jaw of the male, occa-
sionally in the female, developed into a very long spiral tusk, projecting
forwards in a line with the axis of the body.

Genus Monovon,’ Artedi.

The characters descriptive of the genus, being the only one of the
family, are given above.

Mr. Flower remarks that the Monodon and Beluga are, in almost
every part of their skeleton, nearly identical, and he considers the
exceptional dentition of the former as an aberration of secondary impor-
tance ; he therefore unites the two genera into a distinct sub-family,
placing it next to the Platanistide.

Mowopon monoceros,’ Linneus. The Narwhal, or Sea Unicorn.

Synonym—J/onodon monoceros, Linn., Schreb., Desm., Scoresby, &c.
Gray, 8. & W. p. 310; Suppl. p. 95.

Sea Unicorn, Sowerby.
Narwhal, Blumenb., Klein.

The colour of this singular animal is dusky black on the upper sur-
face, grcyish on the sides and white underneath, variegated at different
stages ot its cxistence with more or less darker streaks and patches,
disposed more numerously on the xides. The food of the Narwhal
consists of cuttle-fish, crustaceans, fish, &c., and Mr. Scoresby records
the contents of the stomach of one, killed by his crew ; “ they consisted
of several half-digested fishes, with others of which only the bones

1 udvos, one, and ddovs, tooth.
2 ud, d xé hor k
fovos, one, and Képas, a horn, a tusk.

103

remained. These were the remains of a cuttle-fish, part of the spine
of a flat fish, probably a small turbot, and a skate almost entire. ‘The
last was 2 feet 3 inches in length, and 1 foot 8 inches in breadth. It
comprised the bones of the head, back and tail, the side fins, and con-
siderable portions of the muscular substance. It appears remarkable
that the Narwhal, an animal without teeth, a small mouth, and with
stiff lips, should be able to catch and swallow so large a fish as a skate,
the breadth of which is nearly three times as great as the width of its
own mouth.”

The distinctive character of the Narwhal, not being possessed by
any other whale, lies in the long projecting spiral tusk, produced pro-
bably by the excessive growth of the canine tooth. This formidable
weapon has been known to attain as much as 8 or 10 feet in length,
while that of the animal, of course exclusive of this appendage, was
from 14 to 16 feet only. It is hollow at the base and solid towards the
extremity, and composed of fine close-grained ivory, of a dazzling and
enduring whiteness, so extremely hard as to take a high polish. For-
merly these tusks, very rarely brought to Europe, were regarded as the
veritable horns of the fabulous unicorn, and were consequently valued.
as inestimable and almost priceless curiosities. The establishment of
the Greenland fishery quickly dispelled all doubts as to the nature of
their real character, and the present value now depends solely on the
number of pounds weight the tusk might weigh.

The Narwhals are gregarious, and met with in considerable numbers
in the numerous creeks and bays of Greenland, Davis Straits, and
Iceland, but solitary individuals occasionally stray as far south as the
northern parts of Great Britain.

Tusks of the Narwhal, in a semi-fossilized state, have been found in
Siberia, on the coast of Essex and of Lyons.

D. Teeth in lower jaw only.
Family IX. GRAMPIDZ.'

Head rounded, somewhat obtuse ; forehead very convex, not so pro-
tuberant as in Globiocephalus, scarcely beaked ; dorsal fin distinct, but
low ; pectoral fins well developed, ovate, rather elongate, placed low
down on the side of the body; skull depressed ; symphysis of lower
jaw short; cervical vertebra .anchylosed ; costo-sternal ribs ossified ;
sternum composed of one piece, broad in front; teeth few, conical in
front part only of lower jaw; those of the upper jaw early deciduous.

The term Grampus (great fish) is, and has been, in scientific works,
and in general conversation, very universally applied to denote among
the odontocete the formidably dentated animal, the Killer; and that
of Blackfish to distinguish the cetaceans of milder propensities and of

1 Grampus, contracted from the French, grampoise, grand poisson, great fish.

104

greater usefulness to man, such as the sperm, the caa’ing, and some
other whales. Dr. Gray’s present arrangement of the grampide
abruptly ignores this common understanding among people of many
nations, and brings together under the old familiar name a group of
beings, whose every trait of character is of exactly a contrary nature to
that of the savage gladiator, and to whom the word Blackfish would
have been much more suitable. In looking over the Catalogue of Seals
and Whales, I find therein the following generic names: Hunterius,
Macleayus, Eschrichtius, Cuvierius, and Sibbaldius ; why not, in order
to restore the Grampus to its original standing, and also as being
appropriate, substitute the generic name now employed for that of
Grayius, in honour of one distinguished in every branch of zoology, but
more particularly so in this, the marine mammalia ?

Grampus (GRaYIUS?) GRIsEUS, Cuvier. Cuvier’s Dolphin.

Synonyms—Phocena grisea.— Lesson.
Delphinus griseus.—Cuvier.
Grampus Cuviert.—Gray. 8. & W., p. 295; Suppl. p. 83.
Teeth 2°, truncated.

2-2?

Colour, bluish-black along the upper portions of the body, gradually
assuming a dull white on the abdomen. The length seldom exceeds
ten feet.

The habit of herding together, of following a leader, and of uttering
cries when stranded, appears to be possessed by this cetacean, in
common with the globiocephalus ; but so much confusion by the indis-
criminate use of the vague term “ blackfish” is caused, that it is almost
impossible to define with any degree of certainty what species of animal
is meant.

Inhab : North Sea—Coast of Hampshire, England.
Grampus (Gzayius) Rissoanvs, Laurillard. Risgo’s Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus aries, Risso.
Delphinus Rissoanus, Laur.
Delphinus de Risso, Cuvier.
Grampus Rissoanus, Gray, 8. & W., p. 298, Suppl. p. 82.

Teeth $4 to 24, rather small, truncate.

Colour of the body bluish-white, relieved with irregular brown-edged
scratch-like lines in all directions. Females uniform brown, with similar
scratches.

This species is very nearly allied to the preceding one, being of the
same form and size, but differs principally in a slight variation of the
colouring of the body, and the habitat of the animal—considerations
of minor importance in distinguishing species, and frequently deceptive.

Inhab: Nice, Mediterranean.

105

Grampvus (Grarivs) (?), RrcHarpsont, Gray. Richardson's Dolphin.

Synonym—Grampus Richardsonii, Gray, 8. & W., p. 299, Suppl. p. 88.
Teeth, 4, rather large, far apart, sub-cylindrical at the base, sym-

physis of lower jaw wide in front. j
Dr. Gray describes this species from the lower jaw only, which pre-

sents in the symphysis a variation of structure sufficient in his opinion
to constitute a new species.

Inhab: Cape of Good Hope.

Family X. HYPEROODONTIDA.

Head beaked; cheek-bones and hinder edge of the skull greatly
elevated into high occipital crests by vertical bony partitions, rendering
the form of the skull different to that of any other cetacean, and
highly asymmetrical ; upper jaw larger and broader than the lower one,
dorsal fin small, subfalcate, placed much beyond the middle; pectoral
fins small, ovate, low down on the sides of the body; costo-sternal
ribs cartilaginous ; mandibular symphysis rather long.

Teeth, $5, or $3, well in front, small, conical, frequently hidden in the
gums. -

Genus Hyprroopon,’ Lacepede.

Forehead rounded in front; beak of the skull with a high crest on
each side, and with maxillary tuberosities at its base; cervical vertebrae
firmly anchylosed.

Hyprroopon'’ purzxopr’, Bonnaterre. The Bottle-head.

Synonyms—Delphinus butzkopf, Bonn.

Hyperoodon butzkopf, Lacep., Gray, 8S. & W., p. 380,
Suppl. p. 97.

Hyperoodon rostratus, Lilljiborg, Flower.

Inhab : North Sea.

The colour of this frequently-caught whale on the English coast ig
glossy-black, becoming a pale lead-colour underneath. It is a large
animal, reaching to the length of from twenty to thirty feet. The food
consists principally of various kinds of cephalopods, for in the stomach
of one stranded in 1853, were many hundred cuttle-fish beaks, s0
placed one within the other as to ride regularly imbricated in rows of
ten, fifteen, or twenty together.

1 Sep, above, and ddods, tooth ; in allusion to the teeth in.the palate described by
Baussard, but which in all other specimens haye never been seen.
2 butzkopf (German), pointed head.

106

Hyrprroopon LatiFrrons', Gray. The Heavy-headed Hyperoodon.

Synonyms—Hyperoodon latifrons, Gray, Voy. Erebus and Terror.
Lagenocetus latifrons, Gray, 8. & W., p. 339. Suppl. p. 97.

Inhab : North Sea.

The reflexed parts of the cheek-bones are in this species much
thickened above, and in their altitude exceed the hinder edge of the
skull; lower jaw straight, and also the beak of the skull.

Reinhardt remarks that “ Eschricht believed, as is known, that
Hyp. latifrons was established on a very old male of the common
Dégling (Hyperoodon rostratus), but Gray’s species must now be
regarded as well grounded.”

Genus Zipuius, Cuvier.

Forehead tapering; beak of the skull simple, and without tuber-
osities at its base ; respiratory aperture deep-seated ; cervical vertebra
partially anchylosed. The intermaxillaries at their base, and the
occipital bones, form by their enlarged prominent edges around the sides
and behind the brain-case a large hemispherical cavity, which serves to
receive the head matter or spermaceti. The cranium thus exhibits a
strong connecting link in its general features between the Hyperoodon
and the Physeteride ; with the former, by the elongated beak and
almost edentulous condition of the jaws, and with the latter by the
well defined spermaceti-cavity.”

ZieHius cavtrostrRis’, Cuvier. The Mediterranean Ziphius.
Synonym—Petrorhynchus mediterraneus, Gray, Suppl. p. 98.

Inhab: Mediterranean.

The skull of this singular cetacean was described about half a century
ago by Cuvier as the type of an extinct species, from the semi-fossilized
state in which it was found ; but which view, M. Gervais, from other
examples has shown to be erroneous.

Zreutus GeRvaisit, Duvernoy. Gervais’ Ziphius.

Synonyms—Hyperooden Gervaisiz, Duvernoy.

Ziphius Gervaisti, Fischer.

Epiodon Desmarestit, Gray, 8. & W., p. 341, SuppL, p. 98.
Inhab: Mediterranean.

The only notice we possess of this cetacean is derived from the short
account by Risso, of the form and colouration of the living animal,
presuming his species to be the same as that described by Fischer, but
of which I am uncertain, nay, very doubtful.

1 latus, broad, ample, and frons, forehead.

2 Of the Ziphius cavirostris, Cuvier observes—“ Cette téle «, comme on voit, de grand
rapports avec le eachalot, et encore de plus grands avec l’ Hyperoodon,” Vol. v, p. 351,
1825.

> cavus, hollow, and rostrum, the beak.

107

“Steel-gray, with numerous irregular white streaks; beneath white ;
body thicker in the middle; tail slender, long, keeled ; rounded on the
belly ; head not swollen, ending in a long nose; upper jaw short,
toothless ; lower jaw much longer, bent up, and with two large conical
teeth at the end; teeth nicked near the tip; the eyes small, oval ;
blowers large, semilunar ; pectoral fins short ; dorsal fin rather beyond
the middle of the back; the caudal fin broad, festooned. Length,
nearly 16 feet. Inhab: Nice; common, March and September,” from
Dr. Gray.

Zrpuius Inpicus, Van Beneden. The Cape Ziphius.

Synonyms—Ziphius Indicus, Van Beneden.
Ziphius du Cap-de-Bonne Espérance, Gervais.
Petrorhynchus Oapensis, Gray, 8. & W., p. 346, Suppl. p. 98.

Inhab: Coasts of Cape of Good Hope.

A well-defined species, ascertained from skulls in the Paris and
British Museums, and likewise from fossil remains found in the red
erag beds of England of the Pleiocene period, the strata of which
contain a great number of examples of extinct species of this and other
families, and a few only of recent forms.

Genus CnuonrzipHtius,' Duvernoy.

The intermaxillaries at their anterior extremity are even and,
connecting at their tips, display prominently a large channel: they,
however, become towards their base very asymmetrical, forming there a
deep funnel-shaped cavity.

CHONEZIPHIUS PLANIROSTRIS, Cuvier,
Synonym—Ziphius planirostris, Cuvier.
Found in the crag formation, France.

Family XI. PHYSETERID 2.’

Head of moderate or excessive size, more or less truncated in front ;
mouth placed well beneath, rendering it necessary for the animal to
turn on its side or back in order to seize its prey, an action not known
in any other cetacean ; upper jaw toothless’, broader, more massive, and
slightly shorter than the lower one ; under jaw slender, cylindrical in
front, and received within the pendent upper lips, as ina furrow; armed
with numerous teeth, having pulp-cavities at their base ; symphysis of

1 yévn, a tunnel or funnel, and Ziphius.
2 puanthp, blower. ;
3 That is, without functional teeth.

108

lower jaw moderate or excessive in length: pectoral fins short, broad,
comparatively small, and weak ; dorsal fin or hump distinct but small ;
bones of the skull so raised at their edges as to form on the summit of
the head a large basin for the reception of spermaceti ; cervical vertebrae
anchylosed into one piece, with the exception of the atlas in the sperm
whale ; four autcrior pairs of ribs attached to the sternum by unossified
cartilage. Males larger than females.

Genus Koata, Gray.

Head moderate, short, broad; forehead elevated; mouth small, and
placed beneath the projecting snout “like that of a shark’; pectoral
fins weak ; dorsal fin small, depressed, rising and falling with the line
of the back, at an obtuse angle; skull very broad, rounded behind ;
beak short, flat above, rapidly tapering to a point, and nearly equilateral
with the breadth at the supra-orbital ridge ; back part of the spermaceti
cavity longitudinally divided into two unequal parts by a sinuous ridge
of bone ; lower jaw wide at the condyles, contracting suddenly a little
beyond half-way, where it becomes narrow and rounded at the tip;
mandibular symphysis about one-fourth of the entire length of ramus;
cervical vertebre anchylosed into one piece.

Koera Brevicers, De Blainville. The Short-headed Whale.

Synonyms—Physeter breviceps, De Blainville.
Kogia breviceps, Gray, 8. & W., p. 217, Suppl. p. 60.

Teeth £4, long, slender, acute, conical, arched inwardly.

This species was founded by De Blainville upon a single skull in the
Paris Museum, and which closely resembles in every important par-
ticular the skulls of the perfect specimens found in the Australian
Waters.

Inhabits Cape of Good Hope.
Koera Grayi, Macleay. Gray’s Kogia.
Synonyms—Luphysetes Grayi, Macleay (Wall), 1851. Gray, Suppl.,
p- 392.

Physeter simus, Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc.

Kogia Grayi—Gray, 8. and W., p. 218.

Kogia Macleayi—Gray, Suppl., p. 391.

Euphysetes Macleayi—Krefft, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1865.

Teeth °°, long, slender, arched inwardly.

From pages 89 to 42 of the “ Wistory and description of the skeleton
of anew Sperm Whale, lately set up in the Australian Museum by
Willm. 8. Wall, Curator, together with some account of a new genus
of Sperm Whales, called Euphysetes, Sydney, 1851,”— of which publi-
cation the author was the late eminent zoologist Mr. William 8.
Macleay,—I select a few paragraphs admirably descriptive of the

skeleton of this species.

1 Krefft, Proc. Zool. Soc., Nov., 1865.

109

“Like a dolphin, it had a low snout, and rising from it a convex
forehead, at the base of which was the large single blow-hole, placed at
about the middle of the head. The snout was turned up with a margin
somewhat like that of a pig. In the gums of the roof of the mouth
there was on each side a series of sockets for recciving the teeth of the
under jaw; these teeth were hollow, conical, and inserted somewhat
horizontally in the sides of a very thin, narrow, sub-cylindrical under-
jaw. The eyo was situated low, in front of a very weak pectoral fin.
There was a triangular dorsal fin like that of a dolphin, the rather
convex front edge of it being inclincd backwards at an angle of 45°.
The hinder edge of it was more perpendicular and concave. The per-
pendicular height of the point of this dorsal fin from the back was about
8 inches, and its base 6 inches wide.

“There is the same want of symmetry, the same distortion of the
bones, and the same concavity of the upper surface of the head, formed
by the enormous development of the base of the maxillaries, and the
same convexity of the roof of the mouth, as are found in the genus
Catodon.

“The lower jaw is a singular contrast to tho upper, the former being
as slight and fragile as the latter is massive and strong. So weak is the
connection of this under-jaw with the skull, that the articulating con-
dyles are scarcely to be detected. The broad branches are nearly as
thin as paper, and although the sides are reflexed inwardly, as in
dolphins, the doubling, so as to form the hollow tube, does not occur as
in them, near the base of the jaw, but within three inches of the
symphysis. Nevertheless, so extremely feeble an under-jaw demon-
strates that the long, sharp teeth serve merely for the purpose of
retaining the weak mollusca which, no doubt, forms this creature’s

rey.”
This whale, in length between 9 and 10 feet, was stranded, in 1850,
on the Maroobrah Beach, half-way between Coogee and Botany, and
the imperfect remains, collected by Mr. Wall under great difficulties,
are now set up in our Museum, presenting an interesting, although
indifferent, specimen of a species previously unknown, except through
the medium of the single skull in France.

Fifteen years subsequent to this discovery, another specimen, but of
larger dimensions and happily in perfect condition, was cast ashore on
the beach at Manly, which afforded Mr. Krefft an excellent opportunity
for examining the external form, taking the various admeasurements of
lengths and girths, and for securing an almost complete series of the
bones, necessary for the erection of the artificial skeleton—operations
greatly enhanced in value by photographic illustrations of the external
form of the living animal, and a few of the essential adjuncts.

The Manly Beach animal and that from Coogee correspond so greatly
with each other that I have no doubt as to their specific identity ;
nevertheless they exhibit certain differentiatmg characters worthy of
remark.

110

Thus, in the skeleton of the last found example the rami of the lower
jaw are composed of a much thicker substance; the teeth with which
they are studded are longer, stronger, and partly incurved; the edges
of the occipital ridge are more rounded off; and the vertebre greater
in number ; than exhibited in the relative parts of the whale described
by Mr. Macleay. The first three deviations may reasonably be attri-
buted to the natural effects of age, and the last one to the loss, together
with many other small bones, of the lesser caudal vertebre of the
Coogee whale.

Again, the dorsal fin, placed far behind the middle of the body, in
Mr. Krefft’s specimen can claim no more appropriate appellation than
a hump, in fact resembling that of the sperm whale, whereas in the
other animal, the dorsal is described like that of a dolphin ; but, it must
be remembered, that this description was taken from a much torn and
decayed remnant.'

Mr. Krefft, in his notice of this whale, published in the Zool. Proc. of
London, gives the total length at 10 feet 8 inches, and the colour as
black above and yellowish beneath, and he considers it a distinct species
from others hitherto found.

Inbab. the Australian coast.

Genus Puyserer,’ Linneus.

Teeth numerous, conical, set wide apart, only in lower jaw; head
immoderately large, equalling nearly one-third of the entire length of
the animal, obtuse, truncated in front; nostrils disproportionate in size,
the left one being the largest ; nasal and facial bones generally unsym-
metrical and distorted ; no true dorsal fin, but in lieu a distinct dorsal
hump; between this and the tail an irregular, ridge-formed protuberance,
resembling two or three very small fins; gullet capacious, in direct
contrast to that of the gigantic Right Whale; cervical vertebre firmly
anchylosed, with the exception of the atlas, which is free; lower jaw
slender and diminutive when compared with the bulk of the head;
symphysis of which, excessively long, nearly two-thirds of the entire
length of the ramus ; ribs comparatively slender, their tissue, like that
of the mandible, dense and compact ; anterior four pair of ribs attached
to the sternum by unossified cartilage; sternum composed of three
pieces ; cavity on the crown of the head immense, protected externally
by a tendinous integument, and divided internally into cells by a similar
substance, which contain that peculiar oil, liquid when recent, but soon
acquiring the concrete or granulated form known as spermaceti.

The males are much larger than the females.

1“ The carcass,” (the remains of a cetacean, apparently dead for about six weeks)
“when I discovered it, had been so much devoured by native dogs and other animals
of prey, that no part remained of the external integuments except the flukes of the
tail, the dorsal fin, the thumb extremity of the right pectoral fin, the fore part of the
top of the head with the gums, and part of the under-jaw with the teeth and lip
attached. These parts are all much torn, &c.” p. 37.

2 pvonrhp, a fan to blow the wind, a pair of bellows—in allusion to the structure of
the nostrils, which are capable of throwing up jets of spray.

111

PHYSETER MACROCEPHALUS,' Linneus. The Sperm or Spermaceti
Whale.

Synonyms—Physeter macrocephalus, Linn., O. Fabr., Shaw, Bell,
Flower, Murie.

Catodon macrocephalus, Lacep., Gray, 8. & W., p. 202, Suppl.,
p. 59.

Catodon australis, Gray, 8. & W., p. 206.
Meganeuron Krefftii, Gray, 8. & W., p. 887, Suppl. 59.

Teeth 325 to 2%, on each ramus, large, conical, often worn down.

The above generic characters apply to this species, and which I
believe to be the only one of the true sperm whale.

The massive head of the living animal is truncated in front ; the blunt
extremity, which projects considerably beyond the lower jaw, is com-
posed of a thick, fatty substance, called by seamen the junk : this junk
is at all times large, but in a large whale it weighs between two and
three tons, and serves from its elasticity to act as a buffer to lessen the
effect of sudden concussion accidentally received when the huge mass is
in rapid motion.

The great weight of the bones of the skull is efficiently buoyed up,
partly by the light material of which the junk is composed, but prin-
cipally by the large quantity of oil, of course of much lesser specific
gravity than the surrounding water, pent up in the cranial reservoir,
and usually estimated at from three to five hundred gallons ; a fact well
illustrated by the few lean individuals occasionally met with at sea,
who express by their actions a general want of buoyancy, but more
especially in the head.

The mouth is large, lined throughout with a pearly white membrane,
and terminates in a throat sufficiently large to allow a free passage to
the body of a man. The eyes are small, and placed over the angle of
the mouth.

Under the outer skin lies a layer of yellowish-coloured blubber,
termed by whalers the blanket, which varies in thickness from 8 to 14
inches, the breast, dorsal hump, and upper margin of the tail affording
the thickest, and from which is obtained the sperm oil of commerce.
The more valuable product, the spermaceti, is almost wholly abstracted.
from the cavity on the crown of the head, and frequently amounts to
ten large barrels in the crude state.

The colour of the body along the upper surface is very dark, occa-
sionally black, and fades into a lighter tint on the sides and belly,
becoming silvery-grey under the chest.

1 waxpds, long, and xepadn, the head.

112

When fully matured by ago, the male of this gigantic race of beings
g said to have reached in length to eighty-four feet, with a girth at the

largest part of thirty-six feet. In the absence of the actual specimen,
an ideal estimate of this enormous bulk may be arrived at by viewing
the excellent skeleton, fifty-seven feet in length, of the same species,
recently erected in the Australian Museum, and imagining it nearly half
again as long.

The ordinary food of the Sperm Whale is derived from various kinds
of Calamaries, or squids, and especially from that species called, from
its habit of leaping out of water, the flying squid, an animal well known
from its extreme abundance in all the open seas of the world, and from
its extensive use as bait in the Newfoundland cod fisheries. There can
be no doubt, however, that other food, such ag fish, crustaceans, and
even seals and dolphins, is likewise indulged in.

Otho Fabricius, and other writers of about his time, describe these
whales as existing plentifully in the higher latitudes of the northern
seas ; but old and young being alike subjected to unceasing persecution,
the race has been almost entirely driven away from the North Atlantic.

Mr. R. Brown, whom we have had occasion already to quote in regard
to the habits of the Northern Killer, remarks of the sperm whale that,
“ whatever it was formerly, it is now only known to Davis Strait whalers
by name, and I could only hear of one recent instance of its being killed
on the coast of Greenland near Proven (72° N. lat.), in 1857.”
Professor Lilljeborg, also, in his “ Synopsis of the Scandinavian Whales,
1861,” considers the sperm whale as foreign to the Fauna of Norway and
Sweden.

There are, however, numerous instances in modern times of their
appearance in small groups off the Orkneys, and of individuals being
stranded on the British Coast.

“ They are essentially inhabitants of the tropical and warmer parts of
the temperate seas, and they pass freely from one hemisphere into
another. Between the North Atlantic and the Australian Seas there is
no barrier interposed to animals of such great powers of locomotion.”*
“ Few connect the pursuit of this sea-beas¢ with the smiling latitudes of
the South Pacific, and the coral islands of the Torrid Zone.’” Never-
theless they are still the occupants of the colder regions of the south,
ae “sperm whales were scen in the Antarctic Seas as high as latitude

1 50' 293,

Thus, the sperm whale is capable, from its endurance of varied tempera-
ture and a permanent supply of food, of roaming at pleasure the entire
seas embraced within the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Were, therefore, the Fisheries conducted on judicious principles,—
those of capturing tho adults at certain seasons only, and at all times
sparing the young,—these animals, of the greatest commercial value

1 W. H. Flower, Trans. Zool. Soc., 1868.
? Beale, 1835.
3 Captain Ross, R.N., Antarctic Voyage.

113

among the denizens of the deep, would again become as abundant in the
waters of both hemispheres as they were in olden times, and afford a
steady and profitable source of employment for capital, and a wide field
for the training of a hardy race of seamen.

Although widely dispersed, the cachalot appears to select the strong
ocean currents and their back-water as favourite feeding-grounds ; for
in such places innumerable floating minute molluses, meduse and
crustaceans are gathered together, and which, in their turn, attract
hordes of larger animals, the peculiar prey of our whale.

In habits the cachalots are gregarious, mostly seen in groups, techni-
cally termed schools, of from twenty to fifty, made up of half-grown males,
or of females and their young, guarded by a few of the older males.
Large and full-grown males during certain periods go singly in search
of food, but when an individual is met with far from the herd, it is
usually found to be an old bull, who has retired into a solitary state of
existence.

When about to emigrate from one feeding-ground to another, several
schools frequently unite. and conjointly make the passage, swimming in a
direct course at a rapid rate, with their heads raised well above the
water, and their bodies so near the surface that their backs are often
seen. Arrived at their destination and replete with food, they become
widely scattered, lazily basking on the surface, or in deep repose, or
leisurely casting from the nostrils, at each spout, a succession of
yapoury jets, at regular intervals of ten or fifteen seconds; or when the
fit takes them, gamboling with an uncouth vigorous agility, which
frequently displays the entire of the gigantic frame several feet in the
air.

The usual rate of speed is from 8 to 10 miles an hour; but the
greatest is attained by the painful prick of the harpoon, when it reaches
to 15 miles; a velocity very inferior to that of many others of the
family, and not to be mentioned asa boast of fast travelling in these rail-
road times.

Desirous of feeding, or of avoiding an indifferent object, the cachalot
settles down to the required depth, by gradually and leisurely lowering
itself in a horizontal position; when alarmed, the head assumes a
downward tendency, and the tail rises vertically in the air, and the
animal plunges headlong, almost perpendicularly, into the deep, and
remains submerged from three-quarters of an hour to an hour anda

uarter.
The male cachalot of 60 feet long, will have a pectoral fin of about
3 feet, and a caudal one, the principal organ of progression, of 19 feet
across ; in good condition, such an animal will yield about 100 barrels
of oil, and 12 barrels of spermaceti.

The female (which rarely attains to one-half of the length of the
male), of 35 feet, will measure across the caudal fin 12 feet, produce
about 50 barrels of oil, and a proportional supply of spermaceti.

I

114

The teeth of aged males commonly weigh from 2 to 4 pounds each;
the ivory of which they are composed is hard, and capable of taking a
high polish; but for commercial purposes it is held in much less estima-
tion than that obtained from the tusks of the elephant.

“The crown jewels of Viti were kept in a wooden box, in charge of
the widow of the late Governor of Namose. First, there was a neck-
lace of whales’ teeth, the first that ever came to the mountain ; secondly,
alarge whale’s tooth, highly polished and carefully wrapped up in cocoa-
nut fibre (whales’ teeth are in Fiji what diamonds are with us);
thirdly, a cannibal’s foot in the shape of a club, and bearing the name
of strike twice, that is, first the man and then his flesh.’”

The rare and valuable substance known as ambergris is produced, as
a morbid concretion, in the intestines of sickly or diseased cachalots,
and usually found floating in impure masses on all the seas of warm
climates, or thrown upon the beach; it is then of a greyish colour,
mottled with black, somewhat hard and brittle, and when heated, emits
a strong, fragrant, musky odour; these lumps occur froma quarter of a
pound to forty in weight, and the retail price, of course freed from all
impurities, is about one guinea the ounce. Ambergris is now only
used asa perfume, its medicinal virtues having long fallen into disrepute.

To those of my readers who take an interest in the details connected
with whalers and whale ships, I recommend the perusal of the enter-
taining descriptions given by Sowerby, Bell, Beale, Bennett, and
Jardine, all of whom enter largely, beyond the scientific portions, into
many interesting anecdotes relative to the capture of these cetaceans, and
to the hardships occasionally endured by the men engaged intheir pursuit.

These hardships undoubtedly arise from the protracted servitude on
board, inclement seasons, and frequent shipwrecks.

I take no pleasure in recounting the sufferings of these harmless
creatures, nor do I especially admire daring of men when subjected to
no danger, except that caused purely by negligence or accident. I do
not consider, as amusement, the many acts of cruelty recorded in these
and similar works, unnecessarily committed by sailors, when wholly
unrestrained by wholesome enactments.

In conclusion, I cannot refrain from offering a passing tribute of
thankfulness that, in my own time, other grand products, profusely
derived from inorganic matter, and of an infinitely superior and more
economic character, have been discovered to provide for the illumina-
tion of our strects and dwellings and for lubricating our machinery,
and which have already had a direct tendency to stay the cruel hand,
and reduce the waste of life to within much narrower bounds.

Tallude to gas and kerosene, which, when supplemented by steel,
are steadily superseding in many branches of our industry the employ-
ment of whale-oils and whale-bone.

1 Viti: an account of a Government Mission to the Vitian or Fijian Islands, in the
years 1860-1861. By Berthold Seeman.

115

The lessened demand for these still important articles has consequently
materially decreased the number of ships engaged in the trade; and, in
combination with the diminution of the species, has rendered the returns
too precarious for the profitable investment of capital.

I will now briefly notice that portions of the fossil organic remains
of the Cachalot have frequently been found, greatly resembling in
structure the existing animal.

Professor Owen describes some of these fossil bones, which were
obtained from the coast of Essex, England; M. Gervais has named the
animal whose relics were discovered at Montpelier, France, in the most
modern of the tertiary deposits, the Phys. antiquus; and M. Jaeger
mentions, under the name of Phys. molassicus, another species found
in Germany.

Genus Batmjnopon,: Owen.

Fragmentary relics disinterred from the red crags of the Meiocene
period at Felixstowe, England, exhibited teeth very similar to those of
the Sperm Whale, upon which character the present genus was founded.
M. Meyer has since discovered a skull at Lintry, in Austria, which he
places under the Balenodon of Owen, although he thinks that in many
particulars, other than the teeth, it approaches nearer to the Zeuglodon
than to the Cachalot.

Balenodon physaloides of Owen, and Balenodon lentianus of Meyer,
are the two species alluded to.

Family XII. MESOPLODONTID&.

Dorsal fin small, subfaleate ; head beaked ; forehead receding ; throat
longitudinally plaited (?); pectoral fins small, low down towards the
middle of the chest; skull small, narrow, upper part asymmetrical;
frontal portion high; occipital scarcely rounded, flattish; anterior surface
of the premaxille curves forwards over the breathing apertures ; beak
much elongated, tapering, narrow; maxillary bones simple, expanding
horizontally over the orbits, without tuberosities at the base; inter-
maxillaries somewhat swollen behind, not forming a basin round the
nostrils; upper jaw shorter and narrower than the lower one, so that
when the mouth is closed the upper beak is let within the teeth of the
lower one, departing, in this particular, widely from other toothed
whales; lower jaw broad behind, narrowed in front ; mandibular
symphysis moderate, short; cervical vertebre partially anchylosed ;
costo-sternal ribs cartilaginous; teeth, at the most, two pair, com-
pressed, in lower jaw only, occasionally largely developed.

1 pdrawva, balena, whale, and ddovs, tooth.

116

Genus MxsopLopon, Gervais.

Beak of the skull nearly five-sevenths of the entire length of the
cranium, keeled on each side; brain-cavity small; teeth ty placed
nearly in the centre of each ramus,—of the male large, of the female
much smaller ; mandibular symphysis about two-sevenths of the entire
length of ramus.

Mesoptopon Sowersiensis, de Blainville. Sowerby’s Ziphius,

Synonyms—Physeter bidens, Sowerby.
Delphinus Sowerbiensis, de Blainville.
Heterodon Sowerby, Lesson.
Ziphius Sowerbienis, Gray, S. & W., p. 850, Suppl. p. 101.
Mesoplodon Sowerbiense, Gervais, Bened.
Diplodon Sowerbiense, Gervais.
Mesoplodon Thomsoni (/) Krefft, MSS.

Teeth ;;, much compressed, placed on the anterior third of the ramus,
their points directed upwards, and somewhat backwards.

Inhab: North Sea, Coasts of Europe, Coast of New South Wales (?)

Very few solitary specimens of this species in the living state have
only been secured since its first discovery in 1800 on the coasts of
Scotland, and these have been found stranded on the shores of Ireland,
France, Norway, and the Netherlands, to which list of localities may
possibly be added that of New South Wales.

Of two of these captured animals, one is described as black above
and greyish beneath, and the skin preseuted a soft, satiny appearance ;
the other, as having the upper portion of a brownish-lead colour, and
the belly bluish and ash.

In length the adults varied from 11 to 16 feet.

The skeleton in the Australian Museum, which, for the present is
considered as a synonym, is that of an animal stranded at the latter
end of 1870 on the beach near Little Bay, shortly to the north of
Botany Heads.

This skeleton I have compared with the excellent engravings of the
Mesop. Sowerbiensis in MM. Van Beneden and Gervais “ Ost. des
Cétacés,” but I cannot detect any essential difference of structure
between them, although the separating geographic range of habitat is
of a maximum nature. I have been lately told that Mr. Flower, on
being supplied with a brief description and photographs, has expressed
a similar opinion of their identity.

A more careful investigation into details may possibly reveal some
differentiating character, and, if I am permitted the use of a little

117

special pleading, “ which, together with the great improbability of the
same species being found in such widely different regions,” may justify
its separation from the M. Sowerbiensis. If so, I would suggest that
the specific name of Thomsoni, Krefft, be retained, in regard to the
memory of one whose loss I consider as a public calamity to this
country.

Mesortopon Layarpu, Gray. Layard’s Ziphius.

Synonyms—Ziphius Layardii, Gray, 8. & W., p. 353.
Dolichodon Layardii, Gray, Suppl. p. 101.
Inhab. Cape of Good Hope.

Teeth $, “in the middle of the sides of the lower jaw. Teeth of the
male very long, strap-shaped, produced, arched obliquely, truncated at
the end, with a conical process on the front of the terminal edge.
Lower jaw weak, very slender in front. Symphysis elongate.” Gray.

This singular cetacean is only known from the solitary specimen of
a skull in the British Museum ; and the striking peculiarity which it at
once presents to observation consists in the elongated teeth of the
mandible, for these “arch over the outer surface of the upper jaw, and
thus prevent the animal from opening its mouth beyond a very limited
extent.”

It has been suggested that this strange dental growth, certainly
unique, if natural, in the history of living beings, and threatening to
prove ultimately fatal to the very existence of its possessor, might have
been the result of individual peculiarity, or malformation; but Dr.
Gray thinks otherwise, and has recently formed the genus Dolichodon,
or long-toothed, for its reception. It is very desirable that several other
examples in a similar state of dental perfection should be brought to
light, for otherwise there is nothing to excite surprise.

Genus DiopLopon,' Gervais.

Skull high, narrow, nearly flat behind ; brain-cavity very small ; beak
depressed, much elongated, tapering to a point; much narrower and
shorter than, and reccived within the teeth of, the mandible; lower
jaw broad behind, contracted in front ; rami high on the sides, rather
stout, terminating upwardly in front of the teeth in an arched manner ;
symphysis short, about one-fifth of the entire length of the ramus ;
teeth large, compressed, greatly elevated, being embedded in large
sockets, which swell in a rugged manner from the upper surface of the
rami, giving the mandible a peculiarly distinctive form.

18ls, twice, SwAa, arms, and d5ovs, tooth, that is, armed with two teeth.

118

DioPLopoN DENSIROSTRIS, de Blainville. The Dioplodon.

Synonyms—Ziphius densirostris, de Bainville.
Mesodiodon densirostris, Duvernoy.
Dioplodon densirostris, Gervais.
Dioplodon Sechellensis, Gray, 8. & W., p. 355, Suppl. p. 102.

Teeth “*, placed on the anterior third of the rami; the posterior
edge of the symphysis does not reach the teeth.

Inhab: Seychelles, Lord Howe’s Island.

“The total length of the skeleton, without cartilage, is 14 feet &
inches ; the head measures 2 feet 534 inches in length, and 14 inches
across at the widest part ; the lower jaw 2 feet 8 inches long, and 6}
inches high behind the tooth ; five anterior pairs of ribs are jointed to
the sternum ; sternum composed of four pieces ; the left tooth measures
6 inches in levgth, 3$ in width, and 1? thick’; condensed from Mr.
Krefft’s account in the Pro. Zool. Soc., 1870.

This unique and valuable skeleton had been for many years lying in
a neglected state on Lord Howe’s Island, when it was seen by Mr.
Edward Hill. The gentleman being aware of the rare nature of the
remains, impressed upon the residents that, if the bones were carefully
collected and taken to Sydney, he would guarantee to them a favourable
sale, and advised them to apply first at the Museum, of which he is a
Trustee. In consequence of this advice, the skeleton, nearly complete,
reached Sydney, and Mr. Krefft at once secured it for the estabiishment
over which he is the Curator.

Genus Berarpius, Duvernoy.

Dorsal fin small, subfalcate (?) ; skull, head small, upper portion nearly
symmetrical ; anterior surface of the premaxille do not curve forwards ;
beak subcylindrical , narrow, much elongated, nearly five-sevenths of
the entire length of cranium ; mandibular symphysis moderate, about
one-fourth of the entire length of the ramus, and not anchylosed ;
teeth compressed, moderate sized, in front of the lower jaw only.

Berarpivs Arnouxt, Duvernoy. New Zealand Berardius.

Synonyms—Berardius Arnucii, Duvernoy, Gray, 8. & W., p. 348;
Suppl. p. 99. Hector, Knox, Haast, Trans. New
Zealand Institute.

Berardius Arnouci, Flower, Trans. Zool. Soe., 1872.
Teeth :5, smaller than in ziphius, frequently not passing through the
gums.

“Colour deep velvet-black ; belly greyish ; pectoral fins a little
above the middle of the body ; dorsal fin small, faleate.

119

“The animal has the power of protruding the four teeth at will; it
was young ; lived on cephalopods, for the stomach contained about a
bushel of the horny beaks of the octopus, which were nearly all of
the same size ; and it measured in length 80 feet 6 inches.

“This whale was cast ashore on the coast of Canterbury, New
Zealand.” From Dr. Haast—1868.

Duvernoy’s specimen, obtained in 1846 at the Port of Akaroa, was
.32 feet long. A smaller one was stranded in 1862 on the west coast of
New Zealand, and described by Dr. Hector and Mr. Knox; and in
1870 another avimal of this species was captured near the entrance to
Port Nicholson. This measured 27 feet, and is described in the Trans.
of the New Zealand Institute, by Mr. Knox: “The tooth is still
sheathed in the gum, being embedded in a tough cartilaginous sac,
which adheres loosely in the socket of the jaw, and is moved by a
series of muscular bundles that elevate and depress it.”

There is no representative of this cetacean in the Australian Museum.

(¢.) Mrcrozoorraca’ or Insect-eaters.
Sus-orpDER II. ANODONTOCETE”’

Whalebone Whales.

Mysticete, Gray ; Mystacoceti, Flower ; Cete vermivora, Lesson ; Cetacea
edentula, Brisson.

Teeth none ; palate furnished with long whalebone, hollow at the
growing end, functionally analogous to the pulp-cavity of the molar
teeth of the megatherium, or the tusk of the elephant ; whalebone
disposed in numerous parallel lamine, pendent in two longitudinal
rows from the roof of the upper jaw ; each blade composed of a central
layer of course fibrous tissue, emitting from its inner edge fine hair-
like filaments, and coated on both sides and outer edge by compact,
more or less polished enamel; head exceedingly large ; external respi-
ratory organ divided into two distinct orifices ; gullet very contracted ;
eyes small, near the angle of the mouth ; upper Jaw more or less arched
on the roof, narrow, and commonly shorter than the lower one; lower
jaw broad, greatly curved outwardly and receives the upper lips when
the mouth is closed ; rami of the mandible connected by fibrous tissue
at their tips and not by a true symphysis ; upper surface of skull sym-
metrical ; sternum composed of one piece, and attached by bone direct
to the first pair of ribs only, there being no costo-sternal ribs.

1 wucpds, small; (Gov, animal; and pdye, I eat.
24, without; d3ovs, tooth; and «ros, whale.

120
E. Teeth none, rudimentary and absorbed.

Family XIII. BALHNOPTERID&.’
Finner Whales.

Baleen’ short, broad ; dorsal fin distinet, compressed, falcate ; pectoral
fins comparatively moderate ; fingers four; head moderate, elongate,
flattened; body elongate; throat and belly deeply longitudinally
plaited ; skull broad, depressed.

Genus Prysatus,’ Lacepede.

Dorsal fin high, erect; vertebre, 61-64; ribs, fifteen or sixteen pairs ;
nasal bones short, broad, deeply hollowed on their superior surface
and anterior border ; rami of the lower jaw massive, with a very con-
siderable curve, and a high pointed coronoid process ; cervical vertebrie
free ; head of the first pair of ribs simple, articulating with a transverse
ica of the first dorsal vertebra ; sternum broader than long, in the

orm of a short broad cross, resembling the heraldic trefoil, but subject
to considerable individual modifications. (Principally from Flower.)

PuysaLts’ anrrqvorum,' Gray. The Razorback.

Synonyms— Balena physalus, Linneus.

Physalus antiguorum, Gray, Pro. Zool. Soe., 8. and W., p.
144; Suppl., p. 53, Flower, P.Z.S.

Physalus Duguidii, Heddle.

Balenoptera musculus, Flem., Cuv., Eschr., Lillj, Maling,
Van Beneden, Gervais.

Pterobalenna communis, Eschr., Van Beneden.
Razorback of the Whalers.

Baleen, slate-coloured, under-edge blackish, inner-edge pale streaked ;
colour of the adult animal slate-grey, beneath whitish. ‘Where the
body was black, the furrows and their interspaces were black also,
being covered with skin of the same texture as the body. Where the
black of the body began to wash off into the white of the lower parts,
the furrows were black and the interspaces pure white. On the lower
surface, where the colour was white, the plicw when separated were
lined with a rosy epidermis. The colour of the back of the head and
of the sides, to a line passing from the tail beneath the pectoral, black.
The jaws, and upper and under sides of both pectorals and tail, black.
Scattered irregularly over the back were greyish spots, three or four
in a square foot, resembling the appearance produced by touching the

1 Balena, and rrepéy, fin.

2 From Baleine, or fanou (French), whalebone.

3 From pvedw, to blow or puff up.

* Antigui, ancients, Probably this species was known to Aristotle and Pliny.

121

skin with a slightly whitened finger. The polished surface gave the
whole body a greyish appearance, and it was said to be grey.”

The length of the Razorback usually varies from 60 to $0 feet, but
in extreme age it will reach to over 100 feet.

Inhab. the North Sea, occasionally entering the Mediterranean.

Mr. Van Beneden considers that this species is probably identical
with the whale described by Aristotle ay a large cetacean, having
_, Within its mouth bristles like those of a hog, instead of teeth, and
found occasionally in the waters of the Mediterranean. The surmise
of this learned writer is corroborated in a measure by the fact that
in modern times no other baleen-bearing whale is known to enter
within this inland sea.

The common habitat of this species is in the higher latitudes of the
North Sea, but many individuals during winter travel southward to
more genial climes, and thus have been frequently captured on the
coasts of Great Britain, France, and Holland, and sometimes within
the Mediterranean.

The British Museum specimen is the skeleton of an animal said to
be 102 feet in length, and which was found dead, floating on the sea
in Plymouth Sound, in 1831. Another whale, about the same time and
place, was discovered with its gullet filled with a large quantity of
pilchards, by which it was supposed to have been choked.

In November, 1869, a fine example of this species was stranded at
Longniddry, in the Frith of Forth, and a few days after the occurrence
a very characteristic and picturesque representation of the animal, as
it lay helpless on the beach, appeared in the Z/lustrated London News ;
but the delineation is not attended with that scrupulous accuracy of
detail sufficient to meet the requirements of the matter-of-fact
naturalist.

Tbe length of this latter animal is recorded as being, in a straight
line, 78 feet 9 inches, with a girt of 33 feet; the breadth of the
forefin 11 feet, and that of the tail 15 feet. The colour is described as
slate-grey, with whitish tints beneath. The lower jaw projected con-
siderably beyond the upper one.

Puysatus Srppanpi, Gray. Sibbald’s Finner.

Synonyms—Physalus Sibbaldit, Gray, 8. & W., p. 160.

Physalus latirostris, Flower, P.Z.S., 1865,

Cuvicrius Sibbaldii, Gray, 8. & W., p. 880; Suppl., p. 54.

Balenoptera caroline, Malm.

Balenoptera Sibbaldii, Van Beneden & Gervais.

Balena maximus borealis ? Knox.

Great Northern Rorqual? Jardine, Nat. Libr. (Knox).

The Steypireyor of the Icelanders.

1“ Orkney Whales” —Heddle, P.Z.8.

122

Baleen, black, short, and very broad at the base.

Inhab. North Sea ; ascending rivers.

The beak of the skull is of great breadth to half its length, whence
it contracts towards the tip, not gradually tapering from the base, as
in the preceding species. This peculiarity, and the wide cheek-bones,
the sternum of an irregular oval, and two additional caudal vertebra,
form the distinguishing features between the present animal and the
Razorback.

The colour of Sibbald’s finner, the grey fin-whale of Turner, is of a
deep brown, verging upon green; in size it equals any known species
of the sub-order. It is seldom taken by the whalers, because the
inferior quality of the whalebone and small yield of oil are not com-
mensurate with the risk of the capture.

Dr. Gray considers that the Great Northern Rorqual, figured in
Jardine’s Naturalist’s Library, and so ably described by Dr. Knox,
belongs to the above species, the Physalus (Cuvierus) Sibbaldii.

Of the Balenoptera Caroline, placed in the synonyms, Mr. Malm
says that it bears on the skin the usual number of cirripeds, but
within the body an intestinal worm was found of quite a new form, to
which he has given the name of Echinorbynchus’ brevicollis’.

Puysatus Patacuoyrcts, Burmeister. The Buenos Ayres Finner.
Synonyms—Balenoptera patachonica, Burmeister, Van Beneden.
Physalus patachonicus, Gray, 8. & W., p. 374, Suppl., p. 53.
Physalus australis, Gray, ? 1850.
Balena australis, ? Desmoulins,

Baleen black throughout.

Inhab. Southern and eastern coasts of South America.

This whale, of which a portion of the skeleton is only known, is dis-
tinguished from the Physalus antiquorum, by characters very similar to
those exhibited by the Phys. Sibbaldii, namely, by the great breadth of
the face of the skull, continued to half its length before it narrows to
the tip of the muzzle, and by the lateral rings of the second, third, and
fourth of the cervical vertebre being shorter than the diameter of the
body of the vertebre.

Secing that the sternum, an important part, is absent, it is difficult
to say how this whale ditfers in its anatomy from the Phys. (Cuvierius)
Sibbaldii.

However this may be, it appears to represent in the Southern Hemi-
sphere, by its size and peculiar osseous structure, the Physalus Sibbaldii
of the Arctic Seas.

1 exivos, hedgehog, and piykos, beak.
; ? Brevis, short, and collum, the neck. These worms have a proboscis armed with
little bent hooks, by which they cling to the intestines, and frequently penetrate
through them.

123

PaysaLvus antarcticus, Gray. The Antarctic Finner.

Synonyms—Physalus antarcticus, Gray, 8. & W., p. 164.
Sibbaldius ? antarcticus, Gray, 8. & W.,p. 881, Suppl., p. 55.
Bolenoptera antarctica, Van Beneden.

“There has been imported from New Zealand a quantity of finner-
fins, or baleen, which are all yellowish-white ; this doubtless indicates a
distinct species.” (Gray, p. 164.)

Inhab. Buenos Ayres.

Genus SIBBALDIUS, Gray.

Dorsal fin very small, far behind, and placed on a thick prominence ;
vertebre 56-58 ; ribs, fourteen pairs ; nasal bones elongate, narrow, flat,
or very slightly hollowed on the sides of the upper surface ; lower jaw
with a comparatively slight curve, and a low, obtusely pointed coronoid
process ; cervical vertebra free ; head of the first rib bifurcated, articu-
lating with the seventh cervical and first dorsal vertebra respectively ;
sternum very small, short, broad, somewhat lozenge-shaped. (Princi-
pally from Flower.) :

SIBBALDIUS LaTicers', Gray. Broad-headed Finner.

Synonyms—Balena rostrata, Rudolphi.
Rorqual du Nord, Cuvier.
Pterobalena boops, Eschricht.
Stbbaldius laticeps, Gray, S. & W., p. 170.
Balenoptera borealis, ou laticeps, Bened. & Gervais,
Rudolphius laticeps, Gray, Suppl., p. 54.

The colour of this whale is black above and white underneath; the
pectoral fins, according to M. Van Beneden, are entirely black, and not
relieved at their base by any white, as in the Pike-whale, B. rostrata.

The total lengths varied from 313 to 40 feet, but the animals were
young from whom the measurements were taken. The vertebre, ribs,
and other bones are small and of delicate structure.

Inhab. North Sea, Norwegian coasts, Zuyder Zee, &c.

This srhall cetacean was usually confounded with its smaller neighbour,
the Balena rostrata of Muller and O. Fabricius, until Dr. Gray, m 1846,
detected and clearly pointed out the difference in their anatomy.

Srppatpius Borzatzts’, Lesson. The Flat-back, or the Ostend Whale.

Synonyms—Baleine d’ostend, Van Breda.
The Ostend Whale, Guide to Exhib. Char. Cross.
Balenoptera gigas, Esch. & Reinh., 1857.
Pterobalena gigas, Van Beneden, 1861.
Sibbaldius borealis, Gray, 1866, 8. & W., p. 175. Suppl., p.
55.
Flowerius gigas, Lilljeborg, 1867.

1 Latus, broad, ceps, from caput, the head.
2 Borealis, northern.

124

Tohab. North Sea.

Colour—black above, white underneath.

“A whale was observed floating dead in the North Sea between
Belgium and England, and was towed into the harbour of Ostend on
the 4th November, 1827. It was 102 feet long,” or precisely of the
same length as the Razorback. This huge animal is our Sibbaldius
borealis, the skeleton of which was exhibited at Charing Cross, London,
being previously well described and figured by MM. Dubar and Scharf
respectively.

This specimen was a female whale, and had the upper jaw narrower
and shorter than the lower, so as, when the mouth is shut, to be
completely embraced within the latter. The dorsal fin was placed
posteriorly at nearly three-fourths of the entire length of the body. The
bifurcation, or rather double-head, of the anterior ribs, is well developed
in the skeleton of this aged animal, corroborative of a distinct generic
peculiarity, one only attributed by MM. Van Beneden and Gervais
to the young, and that but occasionally.

Setting aside the characters displayed by the skeletons, I may
remark, that in colour, habits, places of resort (with perhaps the single
exception of the Mediterrancan), and in rivalry for superiority of size,
as to which may be looked upon as the most bulky and powerful of
created beings, the Razorback and the Flatback bear so strong a
resemblance as to render their non-identity a matter of great difficulty.

SrippaLpius ScuLEGeLI, Flower. The Javan Finner Whale.

Synonyms—Balenoptera s°. physalus, Schlegel.
Balenoptera Schlegelii, Flower, Van Beneden.
Balenoptera longimana, Schlegel.
Sibbaldius Schlegelit, Gray, 8. and W., p. 178, Suppl., p. 55,
Flower, P.Z.S8.

Tnhab. coasts of Java,

Mr. Flower, in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for
1864, gives a lengthened account and many illustrations of the skeleton
of this species, to which I must refer the student, as the limited space
at my disposal will not permit me to extract so profusely as I could
desire from so esteemed a writer.

This inhabitant of the tropical seas between the Indian and Pacific
Oceans, is evidently the counterpart of the northern species, the
Sibbaldius laticeps, with which indeed it agrees so closely in every
constituent part of the skeleton, that Mr. Flower closes his most
elaborate analysis with the observation: “In the present ease I have
carefully compared the skeletons (that from Java and those from the
European coast) together. J have even had the advantage of placing
many of the bones of the two in the Leyden Museum side by side ;
and I confess that, allowing for difference of age, it is difficult to fix
upon any characters in which they decidedly differ.”

125

Dr. Gray, however, points out that the beak of the skull in proportion
to the length of the brain cavity is much longer in the Javan than in
the Broadheaded Finner.

The Javan skeleton belongs to a somewhat larger animal than its

European representative—one which would probably measure 45 feet
in length.

Genus BaumNorrEera.! Beaked or Piked Whales.

Dorsal fin high, erect; vertebrae, 48-50; ribs, eleven pairs; nasal
bones rather narrow and elongate, truncated at their anterior ends,
convex on the upper surface in both directions; rami of lower jaw
much curved and with a high coronoid process; cervical vertebrie
partially anchylosed ; head of the first rib simple ; sternum longer

than broad, having the form of an elongated cross. (Principally from
Flower.)

BaLenorrena’ rostrata,’ Miller. The Pike Whale or Lesser Rorqual.

Synonyms—Balena rostrata, Miller, O. Fabr, Hunter, Nilsson.
Balenoptera acuto-rostrata, Lacep., Scoresby, Lesson.
Rorqualus minor, Knox, Jardine, Nat. Libr.
Balenoptera rostrata, Gray, 8. and W., p. 188, Suppl, p. 56.
Pterobalena minor, et rostrata, Van Beneden.

Colour—black above, beneath reddish-white ; pectoral fin white near
the upper part of the base ; length, from 25 to 30 feet.

Inhab. North Sea, ascending the mouths of rivers.

This small whale, the smallest among the Anodontocete, is very active
in its movements, and well known to the coast inhabitants of the
northern portions of Europe and America, for its range of habitat
extends from the temperate parts of the Atlantic to beyond the icy
waters of the Arctic Circle.

Like others of the family, this species exists principally on the smaller
kinds of fish, such as the Arctic salmon,’ the herring, &c., in the anxious
pursuit of which it ascends the mouths of rivers, and occasionally gets
entangled within the folds of the drift-nets set by fishermen to intercept
the immense shoals of these gregarious fish.

In its habits the Lesser Rorqual may be considered as solitary, for
rarely two or three are seen together ; and M. Eschricht, who has paid
great attention to the whales of the North Sea, records that its period
of gestation is ten months.

1 Balena, and rrepéy, fin.

? Rostrata, beaked. .

3 The Arctic Salmon is the Salmo Rossii, and is readily known from the common
salmon by the remarkable length of the lower jaw, which extends far beyond the
upper one. It is “so extremely abundant in the sea, near the mouths of the rivers
of Boothia Felix at certain seasons, that 3,878 were obtained at one haul of a small-
sized sein. They varied in weight from 2 to 14 pounds, and rather exceeded in the
aggregate 6 tons.”

126

Batzvorprera Bonmzrensis, Burmeister. The Pike Whale of Ker-
guelen’s Land.

Synonyms—Balenoptera bonerensis, Burmeister, P. Z.58., 1867. Ann.
del Mus. Pub. de Buenos Ayres, 1868: Van Beneden
& Gervais, Ost. des Cét., 1870.
The Fin-backed Whale of Desolation, near Kerguelen’s
Land.? Nunn’s Narrative.

Baleen short, narrow.

The colour black, but lighter underneath. Length from 30 to 32 feet.

The small fin-backed whales of Kerguelen’s Land and the coast of
Buenos Ayres, described respectively by Messrs. Nunn and Burmeister,
appear to be identical, bearing a similar external form and dwarfed
dimensions of the body, and moreover occupying nearly the same
longitudinal belt of the South Atlantic.

The skeleton of the B. Bonerensis has been well defined by Bur-
meister and Van Beneden, and by their report it seems that the Pike
Whale of Buenos Ayres is closely allied to the Pike Whale of the North
Sea, the two differing but little in their organic structure. In both the
beak is straight; the vertebral column is composed of forty-eight or
forty-nine joints ; the second and third of the cervical vertebre are
partially anchylosed, the normal condition of the neck bones ; and the
sternum exhibits the lengthened form of the Latin cross. These con-
necting characters are aided materially by the diminutive frame, and,
though on opposite sides of the equator, by a similar geographic range
of habitat.

Inhab. Southern Sea, coast of Buenos Ayres, Kerguelen’s Land ?

Batzyoprera SwinHorr, Gray. The Chinese Finner.

Synonyms—Balenoptera Swinhoei, Gray, 8S. & W., p. 382; Van
Beneden & Gervais, Ost. des Cét., 1870.

Swinhoia chinensis, Gray, Suppl. p. 57.

Inhab. Formosa.

“Mr. Swinhoe has sent to the British Museum part of the head,
three cervical vertebre, the first and seven other dorsal vertebra, and
eight ribs of a large Finner Whale, which was thrown ashore on the
coast of Formosa, The bones are nearly of the size of similar bones of
the European Finner (Physalus antiquorum), which often reaches to
60 or 70 feet, and they most probably belong to an animal nearly of
that size.” ;

“The second and third cervical vertebre are united, as in the small
Finner (Balznoptera rostrata) of Europe, while in all the larger inners
which are as yet known these two bones are always free. The union of
the second and third cervical vertebra is one of the characters by which
the genus Balenoptera is separated from the genus Physalus.”— Gray,
p. 383.

127

This animal, although retained here as a species of Balenoptera, is
now considered by Dr. Gray as the type of a new genus, the Swinhoia.

In closing this short history of the Finner whales, by far the most
rapacious of the whalebone-bearing group, I may observe that the
economy, with scarcely a single modification, of each individual, is
characteristically portrayed in the following brief extract :—“In a
glassy sea, near Wick, a Finner rushed round us in every direction,
with its upper jaw above the water, blowing with great violence and
noise, and diving sometimes tranquilly, sometimes in a seething wave
created by its fins and tail. It was evidently feeding on herrings, as
every now and then it would rush headlong into portions of the sea,
where the smooth surface was broken by the shoals of fish. The blow-
holes were at times flat and unprojecting, at others boldly prominent,
the animal evidently having the power of raising or depressing these
organs. The fin whales of Orkney and Caithness every season are
observed in pursuit of herrings.”— Heddle, P. Z. S., 1856.

Family XIV. MEGAPTERIDZ."

Hump-pickED WHALES.

Baleen short, broad, triangular, rather twisted when dry, edged inter-
nally with a series of rigid fibres ; dorsal fin, or rather hump, low, broad,
placed behind the middle of the body ; pectoral fins, narrow, very long,
nearly one-fifth of the entire length of the body; fingers four, very long;
head broad, flattened, less than one-fourth the length of the body ;
throat, chest, and part of the belly, deeply, broadly, longitudinally fur-
rowed with dilatable folds of the skin; body comparatively short and
robust ; skull intermediate in form between the preceding and following
families ; beak broad behind, contracted in front; lower jaw, slender,
much arched, longer than the upper one ; cervical vertebre commonly
free.

Mecartera Boops,’ O. Fabricius. The Keporkak.

Synonyms—Balena boops, O. Fabricius, Nilsson, Turton.
Balena longimana, Rudolphi.
Megaptera longimana, Gray, 8. & W., p. 119, Suppl., p. 50.
Megaptera boops, Van Beneden and Gervais.
The Keporkak of the Greenlanders.

Colour black, excepting the pectoral fins and belly, which are white,
mottled, and streaked with black; the lower lip is studded with two
series of tubercles.

Length, from 45 to 60 feet.

Inhab. Coasts of Greenland, Norway, Baltic, Scotland, Bermudas,

&e.

1 uéyas, great, and wrepéy, fin. ; ; : ;
2 Bods ox, and dp bellow, in allusion to the violent blowing of this species.

128

The food of this species consists of those small animals which infest
in such vast assemblages the Northern Ocean, and among these the
Mallotus' arcticus, Ammodytes’ tobianus, and Limacina’ arctica, are
especially pointed out by Eschricht.

The Keporkak has the power, during ordinary or tempestuous weather,
of turning a complete somersault in the air, a feat which it is said no
other cetacean is able to perform.

Meaaprena Latawot, Fischer. The Cape Humpback.

Synonyms—Rorqual du cap, Cuvier.
Rorqualus antareticus, F. Cuvier.
Balena Lalandii, Fischer.
Poescopia Lalandii, Gray, 8. & W., p. (26, Suppl., p. 51.
Megaptera Nove Zelandia, Gray,S.& W.,p.128, Suppl. p.50.
Megaptera kuzira, Gray, 8. & W., p. 130, Suppl., p. 50.

Baleen, colour bluish; lamin, 300 on each side; length near the
angele ot the mouth, 1 foot.

The Cape humpback differs from the northern animal in the following
particulars: the head is more depressed ; the temporal bone broader ;
the tip of the lower jaw more acutely rounded; the cervical vertebre
more squarely moulded, with two or three of the anterior segments
partially anchylosed ; the pectoral fins longer; and the mandible, in
proportion to the upper jaw, much longer and broader.

In other respects the two greatly resemble each other.

But anotlier distinguishing feature might possibly be detected, when
an opportunity occurs, in the form of the ear-bone, at present unknown,
which may prove to be “shorter and more swollen” than that of the
Keporkak, and, in fact, similar to the one possessed by the New
Zealand species, of which it is the only known portion of the skeleton,
(described and figured by Dr. Gray). On this account, and it appears
a reasonable one, I place the New Zealand Humpback among the
present synonyms.

Mr. A. Smith, who had an excellent view of an animal captured at
the Cape, represents its external appearance thus: “ Back and sides
black ; belly, dull white, with some irregular black spots ; pectoral fins
narrow, anterior and posterior edges irregularly notched, upper surface
black, under surface pure white. Length from tip of lower jaw to
hinder margin of tail-fin, 343 feet.”

luadaAwrds, woolly, downy—so named from the fine teeth ; a genus of the Salmonide,
of whieh only one species, the ¢reticus, is known. This is a small fish, 6 to 7 inches
long, with fine teeth, densely set as the pile in velvet ; it is used largely as bait in
the cod- fisheries.

? &upos, sand, and burns, burrowing into. A genus of sand-eels, of which the
tobianus is the lesser sand-eel, or launce. It is assumed that it was with the gall of
this fish that Tobias anojuted his father’s eyes ; hence the specific name.

* Limacina, a minute, marine, left-handed shell, of which only two species are
known ; both in their habits are gregarious and antipodean, and furnished with two
comparatively large fins attached to the mouth.

129

M. Delande’s specimen, the skeleton of which is in the Paris Museum,
must have exceeded by several feet the preceding dimensions.
Inhab. South Atlantic, North, and South Pacific.

Mrcapriza Amerrcawa, Gray. The Bermuda Humpback.
Synonyms—WMegaptera americana, Gray, 8. and W., p. 129. Suppl.

p. 50.

Mees burmeisteri, Gray, 8. and W., p. 129. Suppl.,
p. 50.

Physalus brasiliensis, Gray, 8. and W., p. 162. Suppl.,
p. 53.

Megaptera osphyia. Cope.
The Norwega and The Mystica. Hartt.

Baleen, black, short, twisted.
Inhab. Western parts of the North and South Atlantic, Bermuda, &c.

In the western moiety of both Atlantics for a considerable latitudinal
extent very large humpbacked whales are met with, whose external
colouring and form, quality of baleen and osseous structure, are greatly
alike. The group, however, has been partitioned by some eminent
writers into several distinct species, as enumerated in the synonyms, but
upon what grounds I cannot conceive, other than geographic range of
habitat. For the investigations, severely critical, into their anatomy
appear to have been directed more with the view of affording comparisons
between them and the Keporkak and Cape Humpback, than with each
other ; consequently the references to the points of variation, detected
in the skeletons, apply in their comparative estimates almost exclusively
to the two species named. I can readily understand that these American
Humpbacks may possibly differ from the Humpbacks of the Northern
Seas and of the Cape of Good Hope, but, as yet, I know of no good
reason why the M. Americana, M. Burmeisteri, M. Brasiliensis, and M.
Osphyia should be generically or specifically parted.

These huge cetaceans derive their sustenance by preying upon the
vast hordes of small beings of diversified natures congregated within
and around the large area of gulf-weed' collected midway in the Atlantic

1 The Gulf-weed Banks extend from 19° to 47° in the middle of the North Atlantic,
covering a space almost seven times greater than the area of France. Columbus, who
first met with the Sargassum about 100 miles west of the Azores, was apprehen-
sive that his ships would run upon a shoal. The banks are supposed by Prof.
Forbes to indicate an ancient coast-line of the Lusitanian land province, on which the
weed originated. The late Dr. Harvey stated that species of Sargassum abound along
the shores of tropical countries, the gulf-weed (Sargassum bacciferum) being found
abundantly, occupying large spaces in various portions of the deep sea. ‘This marine
plant never produces fructification—the berries being air-vesicles, not fruit; yet it
continues to grow and flourish, wholly propagated by breakage. Besides the one
mentioned above, there exist considerable banks of the gulf-weed—at some distance
from the Antilles—in the North Pacific, &c., and isolated specimens, carried up by
the tide, have been found at the head of the Parramatta River, by the Rev. Dr.
Woolls.

K

130

by the eddies of oceanic currents; by feeding upon the sea-wrack,) or
may be upon the floating gulf-weed itself, or upon the lesser fish of
gregarious habits, so profusely abundant along the whole line of coast.

The coral reefs which fringe the shores of Bermuda and Brazil seem
to afford shelter to the female and her suckling.

Of the Megaptera Americana, Dr. Gray says: “ This is doubtless the
whale described in Phil. Trans., vol. 1, p. 11, 182, where an account is
given of the method of taking it. It is described thus :—Length of
adilt 88 feet, the pectoral 26 feet (rather less than one-third of the
entire length), and the tail 23 feet broad, There are great bends (plaits)
underneath from nose to the navel; a fin on the back, paved with fat
like the caul of a hog; sharp, like the ridge of a house, behind; head
pretty bluff, full of bumps on both sides ; back black, belly white, and
dorsal fin behind,” “they fed much upon grass (Zostera) growing at the
bottom of the sea; in their great bag of maw he found two or three
hogsheads of a greenish grassy matter.” “ Baleen from Bermuda, called
Bermuda Finuer, is extensively imported ; it is similar to the baleen of
the Grey Finner” (Cuvierius Sibbaldii, baleen of which is uniform deep
black).

“The Worwega, M. Americana, is a humpback, which has a belly white
and smooth (?), back very dark bluish; length, 50 to 55 feet. This whale
gives more oil than the Mystica.

“ The whalebone is short and sells well. The beach on which the
whales are cut up is strewed during the season with bones. There must
be the bones of 500 whales on the spot. The fishery is carried on at
Bahia on a much larger scale than at Caravellas.” “ Mysticea (M.
Brasiliensis) differs from the Norwega in having the back black and the
belly and throat furrowed. Sometimes there are white spots on the
side.

“ The first whales appear in the Abrolhos waters at about the end of
May, and they stay until October.

“The females often bring young calves with them, and appear to seek
the shelter of the reefy. The head-quarters of the Abrolhos fishery is
at Caravellas, or, rather, at the mouth of the river Caravellas, where are
situated the armacoes or trying-houses.

“The fishery begins at Bahia, according to Castelnau, about the 13th
of June, and lasts till the 21st September. At Caravellas, I was assured
that the whales always appeared later than at Bahia, and the fishery
does not always begin until the last week in June, continuing through
the month of September.”

It will be seen that the principal if not the only difference pointed
out by Dr. Hartt between the Morwega and the Mystica in their living

1The various species of the sea-wrack are included in the Natural Order of
Zosteracese, and seen at low water on the rocks of all countries of the world. Ina
recent state it is used largely as manure, its calcined ashes in the manufacture of
glass, and in the early times of this Colony for stuffing beds, &c.

131

state, lies in the presence or absence of the longitudinal folds of the
skin along the throat and belly, and this distinction having been founded
upon a palpable error in respect to the first-named animal, utterly fails
to prove their non-identity. As silence is generally understood to give
consent, so we may conclude that the quality of the baleen, and the
general habits of these cetaceans are the same; for no allusion is made
to either by this writer, so well acquainted with these whales, further
than that the fisheries vary about a week in time at Bahia and Cara-
vellas, a matter of but little consequence, except to show that the dates
of the periodic migration to the Brazils coincide nicely with the time
of the whaling season at Bermuda, viz.,‘‘from March to end of May,
when they leave.” —(Gray.)

Family XV. AGAPHELIDA.’

Scraa WHALES.

Baleen narrow, short, and curved; dorsal fin, none; pectoral fin
lanceolate, four-fingered ; head less than one-fourth of the entire length
of body ; throat and chest smooth, not plaited; cervical vertebra, free ;
body slender, elongate.

Agapuetus' erpzosus,? Ersleben. The Scrag Whale.

Synonyms—Balena gibbosa, Erxl. Gray, 8. & W., p. 90.
Agaphelus gibbosus, Cope. Gray, Suppl. 8. & W., p. 48.
Scrag Whale. Dudley.

“The baleen is peculiar ; throughout the length of the maxillary
bone it nowhere exceeded 1 foot in length, and the width of the band,
or length of the base of each plate, 4 inches. It is of a creamy white ;
the fringe very coarse, white, and resembling hog’s bristles.” pe ey

“Instead of a fin upon its back, the ridge of the after-part of its
back is scragged with half-a-dozen knobs or knuckles. His bone
(whalebone) is white and won’t split.” (Dudley.)

Length, about 50 feet.

Inhab. North Atlantic.

AGapPHeLus ataucus, Cope. Californian Grey Whale.

Synonyms—Agaphelus glaucus, Cope.
Rhachianectes glaucus, Cope. Gray, Suppl., p. 48.
“145 lamine of baleen on each side, the longest 18 inches long;

colour, bright yellow.” (Cope.)
Inhab.: California.

1 aya, greatly, and apeats, simple ; i¢., without folds on the throat and without a

dorsal fin. .
2¥rom gibbus, a hunch or swelling on the back,

132

Family XVI. BALANID.

Riewt WHALES.

Without dorsal fin or hump of fat; palate furnished with long
baleen ; head usually of more than a fourth of the entire length of
body ; belly and throat smooth, without longitudinal plaits or folds of
skin; beak greatly arched, leaving a wide interval between the upper
and lower jaws; pectoral fins short, truncated, very broad ; fingers,
five, short; cervical vertebra. anchylosed in one solid mass.

Genus Batzna, Linneus.

Baleen very long, thin, narrow at the base; elastic; enamel thick,
polished ; fringe long, fine, arranged in a single series ; head about one-
third of the entire length of the body; nasal bones long, attenuated in
front.

Batana! mysticetus,? Linneus, The Greenland or Right Whale.

Synonyms—Balena mysticetus, Linn. O., Fabr., Lacep., Scoresby,

Eschricht, Reinhardt, Lillej. Gray, S. and W., p. 81,
Suppl., p. 88. Bened. and Gerv., Cét., p. 34.

Balena Greenlandica, Linneus.

Balena angulata, Gray, Suppl. p. 39.

Balena nordcaper, Gray, Suppl. p. 39.

The Right, or Whalebone Whale, Dudley, Scoresby.

The Nord Kapper and Nordcaper of Egéde and Anderson.

The females of this species attain to a larger size than the males,
exhibiting a condition of sexual growth the reverse of that shown by
the sperm whale.

From the measurements of many specimens captured, the adult
animal was found to vary from 50 to 65 feet in length. The upper
portion of the head is high and narrow, but broadens greatly down-
wards, where, moulded by the mandible, it becomes broad and flattish :
so much go, that, when viewed in front, the head presents a triangular
form.

The bones of the skull are very porous, and thoroughly saturated
with oil, and withal so very light as to float in water even when drained
of the lighter material. The enormous head, from 15 to 20 feet long,
6 to 8 feet broad, and 10 to 12 feet high, presents when the mouth is
opened a cavity as large as a room, and “capable of containing a ship’s
jolly-boat full of men.” The plates of baleen, about 300 in each row,
proceed from each side of the narrow upper jaw, and, spreading out-
wards, inclose ai their lower ends the huge, soft, immovable tongue,
presenting an ideal resemblance to the canvas falling from the tent-pole

1 Balena, Latin; pdaawa, Greek, a kind of whale.
? wots, the nose of a large fish, and «jros, whale, in allusion to the very large
head.

133

over a monster feather bed. Tho lower portions of the baleen are
received within and protected by the lips of the mandible. The baleen
itself originates from a thin, fleshy substance, resting upon the gum, and
which affords a continuous supply of material requisite for its wonder-
ful after-growth. In this species the whalebone reaches to from 9 to
12 feet in length. It is externally of a grey or greenish colour, while
the fine fibrous filaments proceeding from its inner edge are black.
These latter form a thick internal covering, which, acting as a screening
apparatus, permits no particle to escape, but entangles and sifts the
minute objects destined to be the support of this huge cetacean.

“The colour of the Greenland Whale is dark grey and white, with a
tinge of yellow on the lower part of the head; the back, upper part of
the head, most of the belly, the fins, tail, and under part of the jaws,
are deep black ; the fore part of the under jaw and a little of the belly
are white, and the junction of the tail with the body, grey. They are
sometimes piebald. Under-sized whales are almost entirely pale-
bluish, and the suckers are of a pale blackish colour. The blubber is
from 10 to 20 inches thick. The pectoral fins are from 4 to 5 feet
broad, and 8 to 10 feet long. Tail, 20 to 30 feet wide.”—Scoresby.

Inhab. the North Sea, between 65° and 78° latitude.

Incapable, from its toothless mouth and narrow throat, either of
seizing a large prey, or of swallowing it, even when accidentally
entrapped, the Right Whale is forced to live upon a group of very
small, but, fortunately for itself, extremely abundant animals, whose
entire lives are passed in the open seas, unsheltered save by the floating
gulf-weed, and unprotected from the storm but by declining into the
still waters of the deep.

These tiny creatures, a heterogeneous assemblage, mostly composed
of peculiar shrimps, crabs, star-fish, and innumerable sea-snails, at the
utmost of two or three inches in length, are but insignificant pigmies
when compared with the bulk of the whale; but they, small as they
are, assume gigantic proportions as they feast upon those countless
millions of microscopic beings, either individually invisible, or but imper-
fectly defined to our unaided eyes, which cover in the aggregate some
20,000 square miles of the surface of the open ocean, floating either in
compact masses, or in those lengthened bands produced by oceanic
currents, and forming the vast fields known from their colour to seamen
as the green waters of the Arctic Seas.

In feeding, the lower jaw is let down and the rate of speed increased;
the huge cavity thus urged along secures, like a fisherman’s net, a rich
harvest of insect game. This operation being often repeated, the com-
bined proceeds of the several hauls serve at length to satisfy the
capacious maw of the monster.

“The natural affection of this species is interesting. The cub, being
insensible to danger, is easily harpooned, when the attachment of the

134

mother is so manifested as to bring it almost certainly within the
reach of the whaler. Hence, though the cub is of little value, it is
often struck as a snare for the mother.” .

“There is something extremely painful in the destruction of a whale,
when thus evincing a degree of affectionate regard for its offspring
which would do honour to the superior intelligence of human beings ;
“yet,” continues this otherwise humane writer, “ the object of the
adventure, the value of the prize, the joy of the capture, cannot be
sacrificed to feelings of compassion.”

Captain Seoresby, the able writer-of the preceding paragraphs, and
a practical and successful whaler, killed during twenty-eight voyages,
no less than 498 whales, from whom he obtained 4,246 tons of oil and
a large supply of whalebone; these together, realized a little over
£150,000 sterling.

From 1814 to 1817, a period of great activity among whalers of all
nations, the British alone captured in Greenland and Davis’ Straits,
5,030 adults of this species, omitting of course the enumeration of the
many helpless young, valueless, save as a lure for the destruction of
their dams. This great and indiscriminate slaughter soon caused these
localities, then crowded with these valuable animals, to be fished out,
and the trade destroyed.

Genus EUBALENA, Gray.

Baleen thick, moderately long, broad at the base; enamel thin;
fringe arranged in several layers, coarse and rigid; head about one-
fourth of the entire length of the body ; nasal bones short and broad.

Evsarmya’ Brscayensis, Eschricht. The Bay of Biscay Whale.

Synonyms—Baleine franche du golf de biscaye, Eschricht.
Baleine de biscaye, Van Beneden.
Balena biscayensis, Gray, 8. & W., p. 89.
Eubalena biscayensis, Flower.
Hunterius biseayensis, Gray, Suppl. p. 44.
Balena cisarctica, Cope.

This whale is of similar bulk to the Balena mysticetus, but differs
from it by the head being much smaller in proportion to the size of the
body ; by the baleen being shorter, more brittle, and thicker in sub-
stance ; and by the habitat, that of the temperate regions of the North

Atlantic, between the latitudes of 40° and 65°.
The skin algo ig said to be smoother, thicker, and of a bluish colour.

1 ¢é, perfect, and dalena.

135

This whale, formerly abundant, is now rarely met with, the race
having been in former times nearly exterminated by the Basque
whalers ; it is only known to modern science by the skeleton of a
jeune animal, which was captured with its mother, at St. Sebastian, in

Inhab. Bay of Biscay.

Evzpatazya Japonica, Lacepede. The Japan Whale.

Balena japonica, Lacepede, Gray, Beneden, and Gervais.
Balena australis, Temminck.
Eubalena Sieboldii, Gray, 8. & W., p. 96; Suppl., p. 43.

The Japan whale, although formerly captured in numbers by the Eng-
lish, American, and Japanese whalers, is but very imperfectly known, for
no reliable remains have been secured for the examination of competent
men. Temminck and Lacepede give their account of it from a por-
celain model, and drawings by Japanese artists ; Eschricht and Reinhardt
from an imperfectly developed foetus, preserved in the Copenhagen
Museum ; and Dr. Gray, from specimens of the north-west coast whale-
bone in the British Museum. All these scientific men, however, agree
in considering this animal as distinct from the Greenland and Cape
whales, with whom it is commonly confused.

Temminck describes the general colour as black, with the belly and
a spot over the eye, and another on the chin, white ; Eschricht states,
that he found the ribs to be greater in number than those of the
B. Mysticetus ; and Dr. Gray points out, in a clear manner, the dis-
tinguishing characters of the baleen.

“The baleen is nearly as long as the Greenland, varying from 7 to
12 feet long, and slender ; but for the same length it is nearly twice as
thick in substance, and it gradually diminishes in thickness towards
the ends. The enamel, when the outer coat is removed, is not so
polished as that of the Greenland, and when cut through, the central
fibres are thicker, tubular, and occupy about one-fifth to one-eighth of
the thickness—much more in proportion than they do in the Green-
land fins, and the enamel and fibre are coarser in texture and much
more brittle. The blades of this whalebone are generally flexuous,
or not kindly, so that when cut into strips they have the defect of
being variously bent and tapering towards the end, which, with their
brittleness, greatly reduces their value.”

Inhab. North Pacific Ocean, visiting periodically the Coasts of
Japan.

The Japan whale rather excels the Cape whale in size, but in many
respects bears a close resemblance to it.

136

Evsatona Avsrratis, Desmoulins. The Cape Whale.

Synonyms—Baleine dw Cap, Cuvier.

Balena australis, Desmoulins, Temminck, Gray, Beneden
and Gervais.

Eubalena australis, Gray, 8. & W., p. 91; Suppl., p. 43.

Hunterius Temminckii, Gray, 8. & W., p. 98; Suppl.

. 44,

ae antipodarum, Gray, 8. &W., p. 101; Suppl., p. 45.

Balena antipodarum, Beneden & Gervais.

Neobalena marginata, Gray ; Suppl. p. 40.

Right whale of the Southern Seas, Bennett, Polach,
Crowther.

The Eubalena australis (the Cape Whale), and the Caperea anti-
podarum (the New Zealand Whale) of Dr. Gray, are identical in size,
in colour, in the quality of the baleen, and in the yield of oil. Both
display similar habits, partake of the same kind of food, and, to the
best of my belief, inhabit the same parallels of southern latitude. They
are known to whalers, under the one name, as the Black or the
Right Whale, of the Southern hemisphere. Nevertheless, the two are
separated by Dr. Gray and M. Van Beneden into distinct species, from
the following slight discrepancies in their structure, which, after all,
may be “not greater than are found among different individuals of
undoubtedly the same species.’”—Flower.

Dr. Gray, deprived of other osteological portions, bases his argu-
ment upon the form of an ear-bone, so distinctive as to necessitate
even the creation of a new genus; while M. M. Beneden & Gervais,
more fortunate in possessing an entire skeleton for examination, wholly
regard the ear-bone doctrine as visionary, and rest their claims for
separation upon some slight variations in the proportions of the skull
and in the number of vertebra.

The French naturalists also lay great stress on the individual range
of the species, which they most fancifully limit to two belts, embraced
within the same parallels of latitude, and varying in breadth between
five and six hundred miles, the Cape Whale occupying the one which
stretches from the southern headland of Africa to the coasts of South
America, and the New Zealand species being confined to the other,
which extends from the west side of America to New Zealand ; the
large intermediate space in the South Atlantic being, I presume, an
interdicted locality. But as these whales, it matters not of which kind,
notoriously frequented in former times the shores of Tasmania, in great
numbers, and many were, and still are, captured even to the south of
Kerguelen’s Land, it will be at once seen by a glance at the map of the
Southern Hemisphere that the latitudinal limit fixed upon by these
authors has been thus more than doubled, and that their imaginary
line of separation is simply incorrect.

137

The colour of the Right, or Black Whale of the Southern Seas, is, as
the latter name implies, uniformly black; and in size it is somewhat
inferior to the northern Right Whale.

In regard to their economy, for both so-called species are alike, I
‘Shall leave the several intelligent observers, residing widely apart, and
well acquainted with their habits, to speak for themselves.

Mr. Warwick furnished Dr. Gray with the following observations
and measurements of a female whale, taken at the False Bay Fishery,
Cape of Good Hope :—

“Total length, 68 feet; width of tail, 153 feet ; diameter of gullet,
2 inches.” “I could not pass my hand through the gullet.” “These Whales
of the Cape I constantly found covered with tubscinella balenarum and
coronula balenaris ; but the Spermaceti Whale was seldom or never so
covered ; they occur principally on the head, where they are crowded.”
“They carry on the fishery from the shore, and only one bull out of sixty
specimens was killed, the females coming into the bay to bring forth
their young.”

“The male whale (E. antipodarum)” says Dr. Dieffenbach, in his work
on New Zealand, “is very rarely caught on the shores of New Zealand,
as it never approaches the land go near as the females and young do.
The season in which whaling is carried on is from May to October.

“Tn the beginning of May the females approach the shallow waters for
the purpose of bringing forth their young. This period lasts about
four months, as in May whales are seen with newly-born calves, and
cows have been killed in July in full gestation.” “The results of the
whale fishery on the coast of New Zealand are of very small amount in
the British market, owing to the indiscriminate slaughter of the fish
during the last fifteen years, without due regard to the preservation of
the dams and their young. The shore-whalers, in hunting the animal
in the season when it visits the shallow waters of the coast to bring
forth the young and suckle it in security, have felled the trec to obtain
the fruit, and bave thus taken the most certain means of destroying an
otherwise profitable and important trade.” “The beach at Tory Channel
was covered with remains of whales’ skulls, vertebre, huge shoulder-
blades and fins.”

Dr. Crowther, of Hobart Town, Tasmania, whose science and zeal in
matters connected with the Cetaceans of the southern seas are so

1 The genera tubicinella and coronula are formed by small shell-like animals, which
have their bodies and limbs articulated, and both protected by a conical, hard, external
covering, also divided into segments. They belong to the class Cirrepeda of the sub-
kingdom Articulata, but formerly were included by conchologists among the Mollusca.
Several members of the group are found most abundantly adhering to rocks, timber,
bottoms of ships, or on the backs of other living animals, attached either directly on
their bases or by stems. The assertion in page 88 of the B. M. C., Seals and Whales,
that each species of whale has its own peculiar kind of Sessile Cirrepede—one the
Coronula, another the Diadema, and a third the Tudicinella—is not borne out by
facts, as exemplified in the present, out of many instances that could be produced.

L

138

deservedly appreciated, has kindly supplied me with the followmg
interesting particulars of the habits of this species :— .

“ This, the Eubalena australis (Caperea antipodarum of Gray), is the
Right Whale of the Southern Hemisphere. It is essentially a cold water
fish, and has an almost unlimited geographical range, following the
polar current almost to the edge of the tropics. It is also abundant in
the South Atlantic. The American whalers, en route to the Pacific
and Indian Oceans, take quantities of this oil at Tristan D’Acuna, the
Crozets, and Kerguelen’s Land.

“ Some years since, these whales, for the purpose of calving, used to
visit the bays and estuaries on the coast of Tasmania in great numbers,
arriving in the month of May and leaving about the end of October.
May, June, and the early part of July, are the calving months. A few
males occasionally accompany them.

“So abundant were these fish that 100 were killed by the shore-
parties at the Schouten Islands in four weeks. ach fish would yield
8 tons of oil and 7 cwt. of whalebone. In a season or two after this
extraordinary slaughter, for the locality noted was only one out of
several fisheries simultaneously in operation, this source of wealth and
enterprise departed for ever from our shores.”

139

ADDENDA.

Tue recent arrival of the R.M.S. “ China,” bringing for our Museum
two Parts of Volume VIII of the Transactions of the Zoological Society
of London, enables me to give, as Addenda, more comprehensive
and interesting accounts of the economy of the cetaceans Globio-
cephalus melas and Grampus griseus than the ones contained in pages
99 and 104 respectively.

I therefore extract the following information respecting these
animals from the able writings of the eminent comparative anatomists,
Mr. W. H. Flower, F.R.S., and Dr. James Murie, FE.LS. ; although,
in doing so, I regret being compelled to greatly condense the matter,
and to alter the disposition of the text, in order to suit the nature of
this treatise and the limited space to which I am restricted.

GLoBIOCEPHALUS MELAS, Traill.

For Synonyms, see page 99, to which add—
Globiocephalus melas, Murie. Trans. Zool. Soc., 1873, vol. 8, part 4.

9-9 12-12
Teeth 3 to imp.

“'The numbers of teeth are most irregular, being so loosely implanted
in their sockets that in early life, adolescence, and old age, they not
unfrequently drop out.”—Murie.

“ Teeth in both jaws 9 to 12 on each side on the anterior half of the
jaws, sometimes deciduous.” Flower.

“ Colour deep black, partial whitish streak on the abdomen, narrowed
posteriorly : some writers describe the colour as shining lustrous black,
like oiled silk. When the surface of the skin is moist, it resombles the
outer polish of fresh india-rubber; when dry, it becomes like lamp-
black, or of a sooty tint.

“The snout is very globose and prominent; the protuberant swelling
projects nearly as far as the upper lip; the mandible, with its dense
labial covering, is shorter than the upper lips; the dorsal fin is large,
faleate, and laterally greatly compressed, and situated in front of the
middle of the body; but the precise position of the cetacean dorsal fin
would seem to be no sure specific test, for between foetus and mother
there is no unanimity ; in other words, its position depends, pari passu,
on the age of the animal; pectoral fins are low set, peculiarly narrow,
tapering, and scythe-shaped.

140

“ Above twenty of this apecies were killed in the Frith of Forth, in
the latter end of April, 1867, the school containing from 150 to 200.
The largest measured 26 feet long, and the smallest between 6 and 7
feet. Authentic accounts show that 40, 70, 92, 98, 150, and 200 have
been destroyed at one onslaught.”—Selected from Murie, T.Z.S., vol. 8,
part 4.

Gramepus arisevs, Cuvier. Risso’s Dolphin.

Synonyms—Delphinus griseus, Cuv.
Delphinus aries, Risso.
Grampus Cuvieri, Gray. 8.& W., p. 295. Suppl., p. 83.
Grampus Rissoanus, Gray. 8. & W.,p. 293. Suppl. p. 82.
Grampus griseus, Flower. TT.Z.8., vol. 8, part 1.

Teeth $3 tof “No traces of teeth in the upper jaw; 3 to 7 rather
small teeth on each side of lower jaw, near the symphysis; apices worn
down quite flat.”

“The female, taken February, 1870, in a mackerel net, near the
Eddystone Lighthouse, was young, but adult, and measured 10 feet 6
inches. Colour grey, varying in some parts to pure white, in others to
deep black; but anteriorly the light parts had a yellowish wash, and
the dark parts a slight bluish or purplish tinge. Anterior to the dorsal
fin the colour is lightish grey, variegated with darker or whiter patches.
On the top of the head there is a large, neaily black, patch, and the
middle of the belly is greyish-white. The most remarkable character-
istic was the presence of conspicuous, most irregular, light streaks and
spots, scattered over the whole of the sides, from the front of the head
to about 2 feet from the end of the tail. The streaks or lines were
of various lengths, and running in the most fantastic manner, some
parallel, some crossing each other, and some forming sharp angles,
zigzags, and scribble-like patterns. These are entirely absent from the
dorsal, pectoral, and upper surface of the caudal fins.

“This animal in its general form resembled Globiocephalus more
than any other cetacean, having a similar rounded adipose protu-
berance, but developed to a less extent.”

About a month after the capture of the above individual, another
very young animal, also a female, was taken along the British coast,
and exhibited in Billingsgate market, where it was subjected to Mr.
Flower’s examination. These two recently-acquired specimens agreed
in their general colours, and in the peculiar disposition of the markings.

In order to institute comparisons between the foregoing animals and
those previously described by Risso, Cuvier, Gray, and others, Mr.
Flower gives a list of the various examples, stranded from 1822 to 1867,
of Grampus griseus (said only to occupy the open seas), and of
Grampus Rissoanus (hitherto only met with in the Mediterranean), for

141

both have been considered as distinct species, from the variation in
their colouring, and more particularly from the limited habitat assigned
to each. These comparisons have perfectly justified Mr. Flower in
uniting the two so-called species, and bestowing upon the animal a
much wider range of habitat.

This able zoologist concludes his interesting remarks with :—“ They
(the two recently acquired), according to the coloration, should be
Rissoanus ; according to the habitat, they should be griseus. As to the
teeth, the new specimens completely break down the specific distinction
previously drawn; for, with the coloration of G. Rissoanus, the adult
one has the number of teeth assigned to G. griseus, viz., °°.”

It thus appears necessary, until better diagnostic characters are
made out, to sink the name of Rissoanus in that of griseus, though it
may be convenient to apply the term Risso’s Dolphin to the peculiarly
marked variety which was first made known to science by that
naturalist.—WSelected from Flower. 'T.Z.8., vol. 8, part 1.

Habits migratory, visiting shores of Europe in summer, passing
winter either to the south towards the coast of Africa, or to the west
towards the American continent.

Page
@busalaM, ssrssswwwcsdeaisinieacedecsesesoss 82
abyssinian dugong 54
OULD TOSELAEE Loc eeecec sec scesenneeeneees 125
PCUCUS) ay cde cisstiuascarcnisinistivancdattioeasteee 84
PLOTS se ciecortsreataccarsttenveste adsense TOI
BIPLCAT S): casiedeninonnrnnnarecnaniecansaeanbae 89
AGAPHELID Ah vecccessinsciencsnves 63; 131
AGAPHELUS) jpevsvicvieca sige ccrinsinsicins 63, 131
OIDIMGANUB: 62 5ccacwaresneamedregeanecsed 74
ALDIPOBLTIS: cescnecousnd sceysesntadneneecese 83
albirostratus ..
albiventerd ...scs..ecas insets is
MOPS: wecseiseneosaraomaexteyeceeee
BIMETICANAY arienceinrnneaiionsocaancendias
americanus
ONGUIOG sis eiavaddenorstines ovens exesainainsnese
amgustata ...........cececeecee eee ener eee
angustidens
ANgustirOstris......... 0... .cee eee eeeee eee 30
ANIMALIA—KINGDOM .......... I
GANENALG: cavigiaie diss stenssdacnincweaiansonae 37
ANODONTOCETEH.. . 63, 119
13
123
13, 14, 15, 43, 128

Ant POMATUM .. 2... sec ceescenecnnenesenens 136
ANGIQUOLUM oo. eee eee cee e eee eee eee ee 120
ALCHICUS ...eeeeesseescesceseceeseenseees 89
POTION x scntnnsicviineseiadeavacoinaiawin 85
ARCTOCEPHALUS...... 5, 8, 13, 14, 15, 19
arctocephalus ... 1.00.00 20, 21, 22, 24
OPCLOPROCE vice ceeevereecececsnensneetanees 13
aries

Page

BSIDe wees ci SAOse eS anonrsnekeaatonmect 84
ater : 88
AtbCNUALUS 20.0... eee ecee ee eect ee eeeees 91
australis .........04. 21, 79, III, 122, 135
DUIBUPALUS ieee aesncrasyaeauwoncecacinesencantes 136
POTN A so guictad vou sanesndeanenspasusanenas 63, 132
balena... 120 to 123, 125, 127, 128, 131,

134, 136
BALENIDA.... waae 635 132
BALENODON .......0.:-eceeeeeecereecee 63, 115
BALZENOPTERA ........-000000005 63, 125, 126
Dala@nopeer a... ..cccccceceeececenees 120 to 124
BALANOPTERIDA ............ 63, 120
paleine d’Ostend ..........20.ceeeeeeeee 123
Dar bata... iscccisaen creiacadarasveenoniaens 38
GASTLOSAUTUS a caiiis ceaiierne seendvnnsisiinins 57, 58
BQVATICUWN Lo eceecceececseseeeceneceeseeens 46
Bay of Biscay whale ...........:0..068 134
peaked whales .............:sceeesreveees 125
heatim on tile: isseeneecevareveccsnenccvseess 55
BELUGA ..... S wiemnscienisais piandene 63, 97, 98
BELUGIDZ..
BERARDIUS
CLCENS sco saceress«
biscayensis
bladder-nose ...
blain vill, sccvesicernseseecess
Bolaviensis ......ececseeee ewes
Honerensie: .sisvesncagscscvscnceiinaenene
GOODS saninecads dascccetae seine mecmumeemeanes
OOPS! ss scseeaneisscitugaasges aie sanaiesiicen
DOPKB) a ascnvacrncenicaso dca ieh@otvanbaiies
Wore ais: espe sosrces dpneshicod await leclens
borealis ...... auaindeebaindiiesietes vase oa ieee 56
bottle-head,.......... se veeneeLanie isis 205

il INDEX.

Page
Pras ISneisisesisa cece: snes sionaeematindenneee 129
OPEMAHENSES: oesseneee ceswaninnd Seeieenete 69
DreviccpS ......ccccccearceceenenerrecee 85, 108
DEEVIGEDS ... sae. cdruciiorascaeamereenaies 93
POCFIMIANUS: cpcccciacccaieganse terves veces VE
BEGVIPOSETIS. ....sesieerosasedilcovuerserese 86
DUPMELS COTE 01 5.3 sevie ainda srassin icin seninamncistann, 129
butzkopf 105
caging Whale .........ssscecsssesenenees 99
cachalot
cerulco-albus
ealifornianus
CAllocephalus ..cicrececareereceees 35) 37, 38
COMOPHINUS: cossucutcewsiaasivas snanesvanses 8
CANAGCNSIB's,s2evexwasniessemscsenew esp esinss 98
CAPCUSIS: sencianiciceniendeasanenines 70, 78, 89
COPENSIS sisausinvievenarsesasworaasasseasiene « TO7
CODON ED sic valinivemesicusionaauaneniteduertenia 136
Cape whale ssssscnicveisveasavarienenaes 136
CALCINOPhAYA ..........csseeseesseeesesvore 43
CORON sce tas sae ecu ceat@edncotadeetende ve 12t
Cetalanial . Gass acviterctudsenaiasncssaaees 82
catodon
catodon
cavirostris
CETACEA
chamissonis
CHAMPSODELPHID/
CHAMPSODELPHIS ......csscecceseeseee 63, 67
Chetrotheriwim — vicsscscecccvcesecsecevees . 55
ChiNeNsts” ssrovsestyiresmswncyenemane eee 126
CTLONEZIPHIUS ......cescoecencesevenes 63, 107
CUENEE! —secmeoacasticnseicaisiaeaivasesens 13; 22
cinereus

elanculus .,.
clymeno ......

clymenia ....

coju-mero
COMMONS. csc jasavcence sas naneoees 35

Page
communis . 94
COMMUNES ....acseceveveveeracees 120
compressicaudus ..... eile aeeiedaiednnaaeae 79
COMPTessUS.....46 dnc enesenaneesenees sores 69
COP EIETE -cciicasivcwsvesesetaws Sani wasuanesiuns 55
crab-eating seal ..........cceccseseseeeenes 43
CTASBIGENG: ocsccdsaven chswecdinsssesesnas gt
crested seal oo... cecssceeeecsesesneee ares “258
Ctistata).... can wns OT
CTUCI PETA: wistaegnuosiratarinaaeseetamamsnice 85
CUVICRL, ~ i cactectunedeincccduseecssteecmeaien 46

CHMOMOCE’ savencrereravwasavenveaawrwers 82
CYSTOPHORA .... a
cystophora ....... masse secre 28
CYSTOPHORIDA

Aeclivis: assavirseresensnvais saeneee wanieaiaes 98
od Wehr sas auviiaui tains aguievanignda cadena
DEINOTHERIA

DEINOTHERIOIDA oo...

DELPHINAPTERIDA. ...
DELPHINAPTERUB sisccsessseseseeeeees

delphinapterus wicseovvevees
DELPHINID AL... eee ceeceeeeees 63, 68
DELPHINUS ...ceeeeseesseceveeee 63, 72 to 80

delphinus.,..65 to 71, 81 to 89, 94, 95, 98;
99, 104, 105, 116

Aelphinoides w.cccorsscorerecseesserseve 58) 59

delphinorhynchus...... Wasstons we» 44, 65, 69
delphis ..... sesepueaiaiciess saetsesserseens «= 92
densirostris ...... sua cdvemadauiierion . 118
desmaresttt ..ssceees Retewacser seus aids 106
dicked ..icecccee stale ae 8
DIOPLODON ... 117, 118

dioplodon ... wes 210
MOV ChOdON 0... cessacesssesssnennensserevens 117
dolphin of the Ganges.............006 . 64

Page

Golphing 0.....,......sessseesssrssseee 68 £0 86
WOTIdES sivsscwecersieaniccsssccccs sea sob a YB
78

57

55

78

52

120

101

electra......... we «= 84.
electra ...... w= 85
elephantinus ... 28
CPLOGON: sieesisiensesiacsscnsiasdrinndaaessaaves 106
CPEDENNUG ........seccsscvecsrorecnvensens . 81
EUBALENA ........00ss00 63, 134, 135, 136
eulophus ........... dsdaessetene esa acneee 19
CWMELOPIAS ..00..serenecreecseresensavecsecs 22
euphrosyne ....... deseo nbeveseeneesigzd 77
euphysetes .... 108
europeus 89
eurynome 82
eutropia ........... aiden cease Sigicb gave 78
falklandicus ............0000 aes ra 13, 14, 15
JSalklandicus .. 19
Sasciata 37
JOP OSE. sav ioik boa stendineet cantestecdvespennes 86
finback of Kerguelen’s Land ......... 126
finner whales ..........04.:sseceuseeeeee 120
Hat back s. oc csiccsiieiessgcenscesetecaveess 123
lowe ris ..... cess asene Been sbieeas seciedeh ie wes, 123
fluminalis ............000sseceeeeeceeseonee 87
fluviatilis! <cepesseeseessewsecetsevexessesene 71
footida.........64 Supe geveivocexicedrctasaces 37
LOTSEOTI se2ideveds tancavéeseeeoesseaey <aeees 76
Sorstert .... sever TG
POSSI G ics jis seieies cece evens sdesanocuacesceaes 55
frenatus ........ : 77
Frith: ovssecwsnaets-sveaversees - 75

Page
Srontatus seus. biiciad ie wawtastevt@esetes 65
fulvifasciatus ......... wm 9A
fusiformis ...... 84
Gad AMY, si csrcswrwemsavevsecsavencceenashs 70
PAMPOMCD - io5s ise dievavinesashavevonss . 64
gangetica ...... Wie ane ep tusiesmauianasebad 65
geoffroyensis ...........:ceeee aeswesewexvas 65
gervaisii ........ di dedecls sdiomenctemeapesinaes 106
gibbosus
giganteum ........ ee
GIGS vevceeee .
gillespii ....
gladiator
glaucus ........ eaubiene
globiceps
GLOBIOCEPHALIDA
GLOBIOCEPHALUS ......... 63, 99, 100, I0r
GRAMPIDAS 00.0... cee seeeeee eee 63, 103
GRAMPUS sc ccsessisiersas sisewetsics 63, 104, 105
QUUMNBUS \seniateveasnean seaesentisins 88, 89, 99
grateloupll sicoxssceavenvecwscrsseresauen 58, 59
QVAYU sic pocensmnanyvassesisaneiey Ig, 101, 108
Greenland whale .......... ecco 132
grey seal ...... de srbo seiie na swaees artesian 39
grisens ....... w+. 104, 140
proonlandica. ...sc.vesciessrsaersecosevens 38
grenlandica .... wie 532
BTYPUS cavewwssiacaaniwaressasemmseneessias 39
PUCtlArdIL. wscccsciccsscocseecvocsssegectes 55
MULATION 26.5.0..2scsadsnneieradiad..conee 71
Hair Gal acs caiscssce ss gecap coeestsveseine sae 20, 22
HADICHGIRUS si csstescdeseseardosvenevcexs 5, 39
RAUCHOCTUS ....cacenscsceescscceeneereeeeene 43
HALICORE ...... sanzaanbascablossey’s BI, 52, 54
HALITHERIUM
harp seal

hastatus ....
heavisidit ....
heterodon ..receereser

iv INDEX.

Page
hippopotamus 55
WSDL. gece shastninneenatte ees sehen Oi a9
RO UDG ULV E pccictbiaa’siaten wheoteaaamiiia susie tatetetae
hooded seal: ssecsiaveadausncevastivavssiece
BOOT. cxuranwsseinewends aaaumneang tects

hump-backed whales

PAU MLOHANSS scctreracsatesccecestiodlatuattante nines
hydrarchus

HYPEROODON ...

hyperoodon
HYPEROODONTID~............ 63, 105
AN CPRSBAU ULE). 2252 cisesneciemivncesicesaaiaiena: IOI
indi

indicum

indicus

INIA

intermedius

japonica

janira

jubata

Jubata

keporkak: svsigdatsasveseeanne veaverioss 127
WMS PSy C16: cc ciecais Sacsnvenncneee taveonun 86 to 93
kingi 98
ROGA”, fae tact isnneneletncteperionseeer at 63, 108
WOME eee a siigs crs ae dibides aotion Gach stv 46
TOO IPLUE a sates dts kad d bs tea aerate III
TOURONGE. <M ais sissies Saohs Snteainean maicthdien 128
LAGEHOCELUS ciniraccndsinrtesienitiane xeaxennse 106
LAGENORAYNCHUS ............ 63, 83 to 86
lalandii 128
lamantin 51
lateralis 79
laticeps 123
latifrons 106
latirostris 88
VAUD ROSERES. “se scpemcri a torneo said nests 50, 121
Ab vayceaAsOL Seta eve Ae tara 2a et ea Gao 117
Lentiginosas! sisesysaceodenssitereeneens 70
Fea! es sexeees os ee re isjctoiasicictin bashed 22

Page
LEOMMNG ve veaisermsauecaiensaccrwisvedeneavens 24, 31
leopard seal.....6....ccceee cesses eeneeeee 40, 42
leporina | 38
leporine seal 38
leptonyx 40
leptonye ...... 42
leucopleurus 85
leucopleurus viccccccccececece Ssistisiaied ts 84
leucoramphus ,.. 95
LODALOS fobs aeinstit ademiasantosesinsanes’ 2I
LOOOM ON: ssoussveniasweangaaaesiesinedtebsenss
longimana ..
longirostris
MUECLENYH. ids 2 cout owandagien veoapendaeane 108
macrocephalus ...........cesceeenseeeeee III
PAACTOPEUIUE siccriwdcnaeiseeasasenenaunnes 67
MACRORHINUS.........0..c0reee 5, 27, 28, 30
macrorhynchus 100
macrospondylus 58
MA CU VENLED prvaae cendrerrinneatimasnoutees 40
magellanica ........ . 89

MANATUS
manatus
marginata
marginatus

marinus

Mediterranean seal ...........eccccee eee 33
Mediterranean ziphius................6 106
MOMHLORTUNOUS: corm sanee socecegiusees sks 106

b MULCCUANIINE 3 cians vein xessueen dil cases awbeaeees 46
AT OCUS ae vies cient’ sale cea cad Seaacans 55
meerhund

INDEX. Vv

Pago
meganeuron ......., ebtises bine seaaibila cele os mir
MEGAPTERA,....,.. cosas 63, 127, 128, 129
MEGAPTERIDAB ccc. 63, 127
megazoophaga...........ccceeeeesecse ues 63, 64
Mel AB: sesbewit ca eaaisvambastandeersbvaors 99
WMBLOE estos a naeedpewatchs ec esot neat 95
meridionalis ............cccecceeeeeeeees 92
MESOMIOMOM oie. seereesevcecccccccasececce 118
MESOPLODON cssestoennexesaus 63, 116, 117
MESOPLODONTIDA ....0.0..... 63, 115
MEALUERCTIUM ooo eceveccccececevneccenes 55
THOUS! sds asceesouaaeraiawageoesaves sevaters 81
WUCPOPS: iss eiaiswsecesatiisncssoeacasoreeveds 80
microzoophaga ............cceeseeeeees 63, 119
minutum
mirounga
SE a

molassicus ...

MONACHUS

Mone geal, sccwseeseeweencacscsciecceecnes 32,33
MONOCELOS ssisissiceoe tnaecs savensacsecwer’s 102
MONODON? 'osecvissisces eset tainmoavaaea 63, 102
MONODONTIDA ...... cece 63, 102
MONEETICNSIS oe. eeceececseesececaeesaneeee 22
MNOONEL ” cas eovemexeyeseeeedednsstdesdaceses 73
MOPSC no eesawcededascimscangereeebaeta nese 25, 26
MOTUNGE: iveseacieuitesieiesissieaaneite ioe tines 28, 30
musculus 120
mystica ............ wee 129
mysticetus 132
MAP WHEL sore csecd secend sn vrmednaniteed vaeees 102
Ler 136
NEOMERIG, o..icc;seceaseindeadoe dace

NEOPKOCD: deesisdanartes yartinawadancasericn tds
WAGTESCENS .... coc ecccecceeasecceteneeneres
nordkapper

normalis ....c.0..16

Norwega ..........-5

nove zealandia

nove cealand@ .......+.

Page
Obliquidons. ....2..sceceeesseasazevsecenscee 75
ODECURUS: 42s ci saicadenwce haces secwactevers 79
obtusa
oceanica
ODONTOCETE
ommatophoca
ophysia
ORCA
orca...
orcaella
osphyia
Ostend whale i: cscssssserecsssewcsrenee ees 123
OTARTA s 254 steve dasinnsnimaraasacarens sae 5, 22, 24
OLGA. sveonicsuvaseohstereevevess By 195.20) 21
OTARTAD AB: a ycssvgnnnvaxinentecstecies 5,7
PaciAee : siiscncemavevinnvartncaderssmead 89
PAGJOMYS vareeveverereee 37
pagophilus ............ « =—-38
pallidus .... a1
PRTALONAIS: hs cvceswasscca us eteesnoe ces dons 48
patonich uss ss sssccc sss cuacisarvee nce 122
WOLOGUIS asdiscaserdarp nec smenbsenadeneans 32, 33
PERM PEL su csasierveciaossarsnviaacueeits 74.
POPON —. shienwshieraceaseataaun beste yevaes 95
POPONIL sexcarswasniaes votanesensdeecives ses 73
PeerorhyNChus voc ceeccccecevecsreeeees 106, 107
PRUP PIE sevveseaanrsarrigiriairooncca satis 13, 14
BHOGA. vevescsvessvarstevcansaanes 5, 35) 37) 38
phoca 8, 13, 14, 24, 28, 31, 33 39, 40, 55
BHOORNA sictisnse isnt easedean cannes 63, 93
PROCENG...... 0.000 79, 84, 86, 91, 94, 104
Phoceenoides ............seecseeeeese ees we (OS
PHOCALCLOS ......cecceeceessecevnensascncons
PHOOIDA .........00.0
PROCOUOM, 55 sctvisa von seams dienes aecieae cal

PHYSALUS .. «-» 63, 120 to 123

PHYSEDER: jcaaswienascendadeececlie’ 63, 110, I1r
2 +» 97, 108, 116
PHYSETERID A, .................. 63, 107
piked whales ........... tssesseesesoenneees 125

yi INDEX.

Page
PINNATA....cccceeees polaaaeeene Sails antes 3) 4
PINNIPEDIA ...... ce ceeeeseeee dusianss 5
PLAMiceps sicveceesvercecsecsansecceeaeenes 69
Planirostris..........6.seeceeeeeeeeceeeee ees 107
PLATANISTA s.cceeeceseeeeeenaee see 63, 64, 65
PLATANISTIDAL........c.cseseseeeee 63, 64
PLUMbeUs ..eccocveeer snoressscserorsceoseees » 70
POMOCUS ieceacrncrncrserreceeereansanens 46
POCSCOPID secesercceceserecrerersereesreree 128
POMECZTA ....cceescesetessrerscenescuen ees 75
PONTOPORIA........ Peagua setae Shusheng 63, 66
PONTOPORIAD AD 00... eeeeeecceeee 63, 66
POFPOISe, COMMON.........cererreeeeeree - 94
PLOAVUM .......-seeee we 46
PPODOSCICER ..6sssarceeriesirvecrdoedsreeveses 28
PSEUDORCA .... - 63, 91, 92
pterobelana ..... . 120, 123
PUNCEALUS oo... reesecevereeeveeeeeeteceees 77
rapacious Whales .........sceccsesseeeees 64
PAU gorccdcessiesieesinsnahaviateeetereeeans 55
razor-back ........ssee06 seen dedocseesices 120
VOC PINNG, <sinesesencterecsdocavennasveseaue 88
THACHIANECEES ....ceeceeecereenecsenseceees + .131
THINODON. 000 .scseecoescocesseetocsones cess 98
REYTINA: jyecesinases cceicvagenvacriebensy 55, 56
PICHAPASONY ascsssiarioniersasassawriontaes 105
Bight whales svswwenesswawevevsssessaseave 132
right whale, South Sea... weg 1330
ringed seal .............00 acs 37
TiSSOANUB ........04- 104
rorqual du CAD ......c.sssceeeseeeseeeeees 128
rorqual du n0rd.........ssseceeceseseeeeee 123
TOPQUAUS scctevavesrrevaisssnesscesedavee’ 128
TOP QUAIUS MINOT ....ceeeeennnecenscereneee 125
YOSCIVCNETIS.........ceeseeeoeee sii seeicsten caus 7X
TOSMATUS.......ceceeeeeees aa havonaw oneness 26
Ross’s large-eyed seal ..........cere . 4
TOSSL ........008 diptavesouinws focueovs anaes 43
POSEV ALD ...0.cecscccsovces vorsoncncenes iow. 223
rostrata ......... wanes seinen E25

Page
TOBETALUS —...eeeeecseesecnerene diva seeuens 69
105,
123
BAO ceereeee 75
BCATOMNONIEL ....seecneseevceev eee careceeeeens 101
BChlogelii.........000sccsserecseeeecersesses » 124
serag Whales ........ sssecesceceesreeee 131
BOA-DEAT ....cesvevertoceessersseneesccusnens 8
63 COLE suacsswncderdesteeerecectessesuns we 35
Si OOM -cinerinetalcGaesenaedens en sepnessatecer 26
j DOE sxasiansese fo Nessie esa oalemedeles . 35
g7 Clephant: criccecsceccsenwssecincveeas 28
5 WOVSO: senivndcesiscsecosaccsseesiema cn 26
15 LOOPAIG ciasce siccassevevessesseceewes 32, 40
$3, MOD. «days newcnesaden sudveduetubagesivetae’ 22
$1 DG sscccevses 52
jp UMICOPM snacceatenconssrasaadnancenss 102
seals with external ear-conches ...... 7
» without vite 25
» with abundant under-fur ...... 8
» With sparse under-fur ............ 20
» without under-fur .............06 22
SCCUNDOTIUS....ccccccnerssceseccccesersevess
SeelMUNG- -stcssedsacessedoweaenseaseocaaes
senegalensis
BETTOSBL air avinwnonnd setae svasatevenssvieveee
SORPIACNS — cacsasceose siaesesars Wieeseeeee

servatus .......
seychellensis .

sibbaldii .......

SIBBALDIUS

sibo IOI
sieboldii 101
SUED: scvesssumseinexcduntuvaietsaveeede 135
SUMUS eceoere see teees esses sales slvvdayeas 108
SINCHOIG sen vocisoedseesisseastactsaceaza OO} TOT
SERENA: ic: svesecneasusiewess aisunancsiea 3, 48

smooth-backed dolphins ...........0065 95

SOCGIGs. ns0ss vinusesntencuieiiaiiecuaucy pl
South Sea black-fish

sioddeeieraaseee sixes . 100
sowerbiensis ......... seiuieosdbevndarrs . 116
sperm whale ........ indies . Ur
spermaceti whale .......... seseee III

SPHEROCEPHALUS..,

SQUALODON. ....c.cccecssecenssscrerescoues 59
squalodon ,.... aSaaiseaaielainniveniedssie + 57, 58
BQUId-eaters .......cccce ceeseveceessreees 97
stelleri.............0. sideninwanins aepatiodeds 22, 56
SECU OT cssissaeretacvovarasssecte seas atic 29
steller’s manatee ...... aeteea date eedtens 56
SEEMIMALOPUS .....cceccesvences spe vasyaraieg 31
BIENG: ssscseenncs siateaiateae cated 63, 69, 70, 71
StEnOdElPhis ...corcereevseeeeees emieeclaai . 66
stenorhyncha sscceosecsescseeceseseene
STENORHYNCHUS....

stenorhynchus ....
STEREODELPHIS ....
studeri ........ asaudiediancaalesaa dais wien a sais
BOVE: cisicsvevissawewsencereusndeewevaresiiene
susu of the Ganges ..........sscseeeeee . 64
svineval ....... saptensevueceans siebodmaaae » 99

swinhoci ........ ost dete Haneeeepeeeeeses 126

tapir ws
tapirus

Pethyos! swscdversssocsewsees sdesaieicieeeetis . 80
teuthophaga ........... ibsvavssnecresse 08x 97

thicolea .........s6008 a deaenonmeemaecteesices
thomsoni ? ...

TOXODON visceseeseeee

TOXODONTIDAD ooo. cecsseseceee
TRACHITHERIUM ..... - §@=655
TRICHECHIDE .. + 5) 25
TRICHEOHUS ........ Wace veaisineesiseons'’ «5, 26
trichechts ..sccceeseses 50) 51, 52) 55, 56
CEAMCACUS: iss csssanvavccasnnanseaceces sia: OF
tuberculifera ......0. Haiveaieaneseasearn wx OF
PUCUEY sc vvic ce ba ckieeencumiattadehiwabcnetes’s 7
MURSIO: sevseveaseserosseeevessecenes 63, 81, 82
CUFSIO Si ost inde eueeseeesy 71, 77, 78, 79, 85
MUSINGS © Seecssacexlpeuiceumessasasdietcass 8
QUPBLIUSY 5 ccsci53 vaxesdsacsensassenadaancsoets 8
vacha marina 55
vitulina 35
WALKEL. scieciscen stan rad seosnensearewesess 75
Walt Sasawowavecssqaisadvarinuiercecevacs 25, 26
WAG OLIN, cadences anes eicnwsaaeoateo ted 42
whalebone whales ..............sesseseee . IQ
YANYaN, YUNGUN......... eeceeressereeee 1 = «52
ZATOPHUD. ‘sevenwceessscesieeccoseens 5, 20, 21
ZEOHUU 5 .secsscssnececodesseresew vers stews 35
ZEUGLODON ......-2ee00 dlaaesseteu sews - 57, 58
ZEUGLODONTIA 2... ceeeeeee 57, 58
ZIPHIUS.....0.000- eaiunedseeueon . 63, 106, 107
RUPRAUS aarveconevensecerener ». 116, 117, 118

Sydney: Thomas Richards, Government Printer.—1873.