Supplement to the catalogue of seals and whales in the British Museum

Inhab. North Pacific. The Bay Porpoise.

15. ACANTHODELPHIS.

Dorsal fin distinct, rather behind the middle of the back. Back, in front of the dorsal fin, with a single, and the upper part of the front edge of the dorsal fin with three series of oblong keeled tubercles. Teeth compressed, front one rather conical.

1. Acanthodelphis spinipinnis.

Inhab. Coast of Brazil.

16. NEOMERIS.

Dorsal fin none. Head rounded. Teeth compressed, slightly notched in the middle of the crown. Pectoral fin ovate-falcate. The blade bone triangular, with a large coracoid and acromion process. The forearm-bones close together, linear. Metacarpal bones five, large. The hand rather large; the second and third fingers elongate, nearly equal, as long as the arm-bones, the fourth finger shorter, the first shorter, and the fifth very short.

Vertebræ 63:—C. 7. D. 13. L. and C. 43.

1. Neomeris phocænoides.

Inhab. Indian Ocean; Bengal; Cape of Good Hope; Japan.

Schlegel (Fauna Japonica, Mammalia, tab. v.) gives a detailed figure of the skull, the dorsal vertebræ, the chest-bone, and the fore limb of this animal.

B. Pectoral fin low down on the side of the body. The second and third fingers very long, of nine or twelve phalanges (cf. p. 63).

Family 11. GRAMPIDÆ.

Head rounded; forehead rather convex. Teeth conical; of upper jaw early deciduous, of lower jaw only in the front over the short symphysis. Dorsal fin low, rather behind the middle of the back. Pectoral fins ovate, elongate. Skull depressed, with the lateral expansions horizontal, rather thickened and bent up over the orbit and slightly dilated and bent down over the notch. Intermaxillaries dilated, swollen in front of the blower. Atlas free; rest of cervical vertebræ and dorsal processes united. The arm-bones short. Two middle fingers elongated, subequal, of eight or nine phalanges; the other fingers very short, of two or three phalanges. The breast-bone single, broad in front.

1. GRAMPUS.

† Triangle in front of the blowers elongate, produced in front over the vomer. Bladebone triangular, the height about two-thirds the width. Beak of skull narrow, more contracted for two-thirds of its length.

1. Grampus Rissoanus.

Beak of skull rather broad or gradually tapering towards the front; intermaxillaries rather broad; bladebone triangular, the height three-fourths the width.

Inhab. Nice.

2. Grampus Cuvieri.

B.M.

Inhab. North Sea, Hampshire.

†† Triangle in front of the blowers short, broad.

3. Grampus Richardsonii.

Inhab. Cape of Good Hope.

Family 12. GLOBIOCEPHALIDÆ.

Head blunt, very much swollen. Teeth in the front part of both jaws, cylindrical, simple; symphysis very short, shorter than the tooth-line. Dorsal fin falcate. Pectoral fin low down on the sides of the body; fingers elongate, many-jointed. Atlas and the rest of cervical vertebræ united, or the hinder one free. Scapula triangular, with large coracoid and acromion processes. Arm-bones very short. Metacarpal bones in cartilage. The two middle fingers very long, of twelve to ten joints; the rest of the fingers short, of three or four phalanges; index finger short, slender, four-jointed; ring-finger shorter, three-jointed; little finger very short, of one phalange. Breast-bone of three separate pierced pieces; the hinder one narrow.

1. GLOBIOCEPHALUS.

Skull:—palate flat; beak rather tapering in front. First to sixth cervical vertebræ anchylosed into one mass, seventh free.

Vertebræ 58 or 59:—C. 7. D. 11. L. and C. 40 or 41.

* Black, with a white streak beneath.

1. Globiocephalus svineval.

B.M.

Inhab. North Sea, coast of England. The Pilot Whale.

Inhab. Mediterranean.

Inhab. North Sea.

Inhab. Delaware Bay. Teeth six above.

Inhab. South Sea. Cape of Good Hope.

Inhab. Guadaloupe. Mus. Paris.

2. Globiocephalus Grayi.

Inhab. Buenos Ayres.

** Black, or only slightly paler beneath.

3. Globiocephalus macrorhynchus.

B.M.

Inhab. South Sea. New Zealand (Gervais).

“Two skulls in the Colonial Museum, Wellington, New Zealand, one in longitudinal section; one lower jaw; six cervical, four lumbar, thirteen caudal vertebræ; two scapulæ; two hyoids. Both skulls are of the same dimensions:—

“Hyoid arch 11 inches wide by 7 inches high.

“Sternum 10 × 7 inches—with three sternal ribs, each 7 inches long.

“The first rib is 10 inches from head to tip, but is bent with an arch of 5 inches.

“The atlas, axis, and three other cervicals are anchylosed. The compound cervicals have a conjoined length of 4 inches. Vertical diameter of foramen magnum 2½ inches. Conjoined length of the four lumbers 8 inches; height, including spinous processes, 8·5 inches. Caudal apparatus, of thirteen segments, 16 inches; two of these are anchylosed. Teeth 9-9/8-8”.—Hector.

Black above and below.

Inhab. North Pacific.

Inhab. Coast of Australia. In Museum of Sydney.

Inhab. Bay of Bengal. Black fish.

Inhab. Japan.

Inhab. China.

Inhab. Japan. Called “Sibo golo.” Purple, with a white spot behind the dorsal fin.

2. SPHÆROCEPHALUS.

Palate of the skull convex, shelving on the sides. Beak oblong, of nearly the same width the greater part of its length.

1. Sphærocephalus incrassatus.

B.M.

Inhab. British Channel, Bridport.

II. Pectoral fin broad, rounded or truncated at the end; hand shorter than the arm-bones; second finger the longest, the rest gradually shorter; phalanges of the second finger six or eight (cf. p. 63).

Family 13. ORCADÆ.

Head rounded, scarcely beaked. Dorsal fin falcate. Skull heavy; wings of sides expanded; beak short, broad; triangle in front of the blowers flat. Lower jaw thick in front; symphysis short. Teeth large.

Vertebræ 51 or 52:—C. 7. D. 11 or 12. L. and C. 33.

The first three cervical vertebræ united into one mass by their bodies and dorsal processes, the rest more or less free. Pectoral fin broad and rounded at the end. “Carpal bone single, in a large mass of cartilage.”

1. ORCA.

Beak of the skull from the notch before the orbit the same length as from the notch to the condyles; the width at the notch three-fifths of the length of the beak. The occipital end of the skull slightly concave. Condyles of moderate size. Lower jaw broad on the sides, very thick and solid in front.

A. The beak of the skull tapering and narrow in front, end narrow. Gladiator.

1. Orca stenorhyncha. (Figs. 7 & 9.)

B.M.

Inhab. North Sea. Skeleton from Weymouth, and a skull from the English coast. B.M.

Intermaxillaries narrow in the middle and rather dilated in front; but the extent of dilatation varies in the two specimens.

The examination of the four skulls of Orca found on the English coast show they belong to two very distinct species, one with a much more attenuated beak than the other.

B. Beak of the skull spatulate; sides of the hinder half nearly parallel, of the front half arched and converging; end rounded, middle rather wider than at the notch. Orca.

2. Orca capensis. (Figs. 8 & 10.)

B.M.

Inhab. Cape of Good Hope (Viney, B.M.; Villette, Mus. Coll. Surg. no. 1139); Seychelles Islands (Swinburne Ward).

In the Cape specimen the intermaxillaries are nearly of the same width in the whole of their length; in the Seychelles skull they are contracted in the greater part of their length, and rather dilated in front.

Mr. Swinburne Ward has kindly sent a very beautiful skull of a “Killer” taken in the sea near the Seychelle Islands.

To determine this skull I have been induced to compare the skulls of the genus in the British Museum, which it is very necessary to do from time to time, as specimens gradually accumulate, and often arrive when I am occupied on other subjects, and consequently are put aside for future examination.

In this examination I have observed that in the ‘Catalogue of Seals and Whales’ I have confounded with the skull described under the name of Orca capensis one from the North Pacific, the former being the true Orca capensis, and the skull now received from the Seychelles Islands being of the same species.

The skull figured in the ‘Zoology of the Erebus and Terror’ under the name of O. capensis is from a specimen received from the Zoological Society, to which it was presented by Capt. Delville, who said he obtained it in the North Pacific (?). It is quite a different species, for which I propose the name of Orca pacifica. I doubt its 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.

3. Orca africana.

Inhab. Algoa Bay.

Skull much smaller, 24 inches long.

4. Orca latirostris.

B.M.

The skull very similar to that of the Cape species, but much smaller; but the beak is rather narrower, the intermaxillaries moderately broad, slightly dilated in front.

Inhab. North Sea.

An adult skull from the coast of Essex (361 a), and another without the lower jaw, are in the British Museum.

These skulls of the smaller British, or, rather, European Orca are distinguishable from those of O. gladiator by the smaller size and the broader, rounder nose—and from the skulls of the Cape-of-Good-Hope species by being of a much smaller species, and having a depressed crown of the head.

I believe the skull figured under the name of Delphinus orca by Cuvier, Oss. Foss. vol. v. tab. 22. figs. 3, 4, represents this species, from the form of the beak and the narrowness of the occiput: this figure has been copied by various British and other authors.

Inhab. Faroe Islands.

Inhab. the Atlantic.

Skull about 40 inches long.

Inhab. Mediterranean, Cette.

Skull about 22 inches long. It is about the same size as the Orca from Algoa Bay; but the brain-cavity is rather broader and the beak is not so acute in front.

Gervais, in the ‘Zoology and Paleontology of France,’ figures the skull of a young Delphinus orca, taken on the coast of Cette, which is now in the Museum of Paris. It appears to belong to this species; or it may be that the Orca of the Mediterranean does not grow to the usual size; or, again, it may be of a different species; for the skull is only fifty-eight centimetres long and thirty broad.

5. Orca magellanica.

Inhab. Patagonia. Mus. Buenos Ayres.

This species, according to the figure, is very like Orca latirostris.

6. Orca tasmanica.

Inhab. Tasmania. Skull about 32 inches long.

7. Orca rectipinna.

No white spot behind eye.

Inhab. California.

8. Orca atra.

Black above and below, with white spot behind eye.

Inhab. Oregon, Aleutian Islands.

The following are the measurements of the different skulls of the genus in the collection of the British Museum; they were carefully taken with calipers by Mr. Edward Gerrard.

2. OPHYSIA.

Skull:—beak from the notch before the orbit the same length as from the notch to the condyle; width at the notch two-thirds the entire length of the beak. Intermaxillaries 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.

1. Ophysia pacifica.

B.M.

Inhab. North Pacific (Capt. Delville, R.N.).

Skull, from the Zoological Society’s collection.

Family 14. BELUGIDÆ.

Head rounded in front. Teeth in both jaws more or less early deciduous, rarely wanting or, rather, not developed. Back without any dorsal fin. Pectoral fin small, ovate. Skull with the lateral expansion of the maxilla over the orbit, and the side of the beak, shelving downwards. Fingers short; index and middle fingers nearly the same length, the rest rather shorter; phalanges 2, 5, 6, 4, 3. Cervical vertebræ generally free; the second with a large dorsal process.

“The Narwhal and the Beluga appear to separate themselves from all the rest, by certain well-marked structural conditions, especially the characters of the cervical vertebræ. As these two animals are in almost every part of their skeleton nearly identical, even to the number of the vertebræ and phalanges, I am disposed to look upon the exceptional dentition of the former as an aberration of secondary importance, and to unite the two genera into a distinct subfamily, placing it next to the Platanistidæ.”—Flower, l. c. p. 114.

1. BELUGA.

Lateral wing of the maxilla over the orbit shelving downward. Teeth conical in both jaws, early deciduous. Male without any spiral horn-like tooth. Fingers short. Metacarpal bones surrounded with cartilage. Bladebone with large coracoid and acromion processes. Second cervical vertebra with a large dorsal process.

Vertebræ 50:—C. 7. D. 10. L. and C. 33.

1. Beluga catodon.

B.M.

Inhab. North Sea, mouths of rivers.

Inhab. Arctic seas.

Inhab. Arctic seas.

Inhab. Arctic seas.

These are probably varieties of B. catodon, showing that the attachment of the cervical vertebræ, the number of ribs, and the form of the acromion are liable to vary.

Inhab. Canada.

I believe it to be the same as the former.

2. Beluga Kingii.

Inhab. Australia.

2. MONODON.

Lateral expansion over the orbit shelving down. Teeth in both jaws very early deciduous. Male with one, rarely two, very long, projecting, spiral tusks in the left side of the upper jaw. Cervical vertebræ:—first free, thin; second and third united by the spinal processes. Bladebone with large coracoid and acromion processes. Fingers short.

Vertebræ 50:—C. 7. D. 11. L. 6. C. 26.

“In the skeleton of two males in the Museum of the College of Surgeons, the bodies of the second and third cervical vertebræ are firmly united.”—Flower.

1. Monodon monoceros.

B.M.

Inhab. North Sea.

Family 15. PONTOPORIADÆ.

Head long-beaked. Beak slender, smooth. Nostrils on the nape, crescent-shaped. Teeth in both jaws permanent, conical, with a swollen ring round the base. Dorsal fin short, trigonal. Pectoral fin short, truncated. Fingers 5, nearly equal; the thumb very short, of one joint; the index finger the longest, the rest gradually shorter to the little finger. Bladebone broad, with two ridges. Skull long-beaked, the beak compressed. Lower jaws united together nearly to the base. Cartilages of ribs ossified.

Vertebræ 42:—C. 7. D. 10. L. 7. C. 18.

1. PONTOPORIA.

Beak of the skull high, compressed. Symphysis of the lower jaw very long.

1. Pontoporia Blainvillii.

B.M.

Inhab. South Atlantic, Monte Video.

The animal figured by Gervais as Delphinus (Stenodelphis) Blainvillii (Voy. Amér. Mérid. t. 23) differs from Burmeister’s figure in having an elongated subfalcate pectoral fin, and a higher dorsal, and a broad white streak, commencing from the blower and extending down the back to near the tail. If this is not a figure of the animal seen at sea, which I suspect it must be, it must be a different species.

Suborder VI. ZIPHIOIDEA.

Head beaked. Nostrils two, united into a single transverse or crescent-like blower on the centre of the back of the crown. Teeth only in the front or sides of the lower jaw, fitting into pits in the upper one. Dorsal fin falcate. Pectoral fin ovate, small, low down on the side of the body: fingers short, 4- or 5-jointed; second and third the longest; fourth rather shorter; first and fifth rather short. Cervical vertebræ more or less united into one mass.

Family 16. HYPEROODONTIDÆ.

Blower lunate. Beak of the skull with a high crest on each side above, formed by the elevation of the maxillary bones in front of the blower. Teeth 2 or 4, in front of the lower jaw, conical. Cervical vertebræ united into one mass.

1. HYPEROODON.

Beak of the skull bent downwards: crest of the back of the beak sharp-edged, above as high as the occiput.

Vertebræ 44 or 45:—C. 7 (all united into one solid mass). D. 9. L. 10. C. 18 or 19.

1. Hyperoodon butzkopf.

B.M.

Inhab. North Sea.

Inhab. Charlestown Harbour.

Most likely a variety of H. butzkopf.

2. LAGENOCETUS.

Beak of the skull straight, erect, very large, flattened, higher than the occiput.

1. Lagenocetus latifrons.

B.M.

Inhab. North Sea.

“Plate 6 represents the skull of a male of Hyperoodon latifrons (Gray), from the Färöer, of which the complete skeleton, 25 feet long, is preserved in the University’s Museum.

“Eschricht believed, as is known, that H. latifrons was established on a very old male of the common Dögling, Hyperoodon rostratus; but Gray’s species must now be regarded as well grounded.

“Plate 7 represents the male (fœtus) of the common H. rostratus. All figures of half the natural size.”—Reinhardt.

Family 17. EPIODONTIDÆ.

Blower lunate. Skull:—beak simple; maxillaries not dilated above; intermaxillaries enlarged behind, forming a more or less deep cavity round the nostrils. Teeth 2 or 4 in front of the lower jaw, conical or cylindrical. Cervical vertebræ:—first, second, and third united into one mass, which is produced and truncated above; the rest thin, free.

1. EPIODON.

Skull:—vomer simple, small; intermaxillaries elevated, and forming a moderately deep, well-marked basin round the nostrils. Fingers 5; carpal bones 6; phalanges 2, 3, 4, 3, 3. Sternal bones separate from the front, lanceolate. Vertebra 42; the “front caudal with chevron bones. First four cervical vertebræ united by their bodies into one mass” (Ostéog. Cét. t. 22. f. 4).

1. Epiodon Desmarestii.

Inhab. North Sea and Mediterranean, Hérault.

2. Epiodon australis.

Inhab. Buenos Ayres.

Vertebræ 49: cervical 7, dorsal 10, lumbar 12, caudal 20.

2. PETRORHYNCHUS.

Skull trigonal. Vomer swollen, forming a large, elongated tubercle between the callous intermaxillaries. Intermaxillaries forming a deep basin round the nostrils.

1. Petrorhynchus mediterraneus.

Inhab. Mediterranean.

2. Petrorhynchus capensis.

B.M.

Inhab. South Sea. Cape sea (H. Layard).

Though M. van Beneden’s figure (copied in Cat. Seals & Whales, p. 347. f. 69) is so unlike the figure of Petrorhynchus capensis in the Cat. Seals & Whales, pp. 344 & 345. figs. 67 & 68, yet the cast of the beak of M. van Beneden’s specimen resembles the latter figure and our specimen.

Family 18. ZIPHIIDÆ.