Supplement To The Catalogue Of Seals And Whales In The British Museum

SUPPLEMENT TO THE CATALOGUE OF SEALS AND WHALES.

Phocidæ, Catalogue of Seals &amp; Whales , p. 1. Pinnipedia, Illiger , Prodr. p. 138, 1811. Pinnipedes, Gill’s Prodomus , Proceedings Essex Institute , vol. v. 1866....

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Family 1. PHOCIDÆ.

Muffle hairy on the edge, and between the nostrils. Ears without any conch, merely a small aperture. Arms and legs very short; wrist very short. Toes subequal, arched, exserted. Hind feet large, fan-shaped; the inner and outer toes large and long, the three middle ones shorter. The palms and soles hairy. Claws distinct, sharp. Skull:—postorbital process none or obsolete; no alisphenoid canal; the mastoid process swollen, seeming to form part of the auditory bulla. The scapula expanded upwards an

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Family 2. TRICHECHIDÆ.

Trichechidæ, Gray , Ann. Philosoph. 1825, p. 348; Ann. &amp; Mag. N. H. 1869, iv. p. 268. Rosmaridæ, Gill , Proc. Essex Inst. v. 1866, p. 11. Trichechina (part.), Gray , Cat. S. &amp; W. p. 33. Muzzle very broad, truncate, convex, swollen above. Ears without any conch. Eyes prominent. Canines very large, exserted. Cutting-teeth 4/2 in young, and 2/2 in adult; grinders all single-rooted. The anterior feet as large as the posterior ones; the fingers decrease in a curved line, destitute of

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Family 3. OTARIADÆ.

Nose simple; muffle rather large, callous above and between the nostrils. Ears with a cylindrical, external conch. Arms and legs rather elongate. The fore and hind feet fringed. Fore feet fin-like, with a scolloped naked membrane. Palms and soles bald, longitudinally grooved, more or less triangular. Fingers gradually diminish in size from the inner side. Hind feet elongate, narrow, all clawless. Toes nearly of equal length, the outer one on each side being rather the strongest (see Cat. Seals a

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Order CETACEA.

Teeth all similar, conical, sometimes not developed. Palate often furnished with transverse plates of baleen or whalebone. Body fish-shaped, smooth, bald. Limbs clawless; fore limbs fin-shaped; hinder united, forming a forked horizontal fin. Nostrils enlarged into blowers. Teats two, inguinal.—Carnivorous. They may be divided by the form of the pectoral fin, thus:— I. Pectoral fin broad, truncated or rounded at the end; fingers 5, shorter than the arm-bones, subequal, gradually shorter in the se

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Section I. MYSTICETE (cf. p. 57).

Mysticete, Gray , Cat. Seals &amp; Whales B. M. pp. 61, 68; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 1. Mystacoceti or Balænoidea, Flower , Trans. Zool. Soc. vi. p. 110. Head large, depressed. Teeth rudimentary; they never cut the gums. Palate with transverse, fringed, horny plates of baleen. Nostrils separate, longitudinal. Gullet very contracted. Tympanic bones simple, large, cochleate, attached to an expanding periotic bone, which forms part of the skull. The baleen of the different Whales may

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Family 1. BALÆNIDÆ. Right Whales.

Balænidæ, Gray , Cat. Seals &amp; Whales B. M. pp. 61, 75; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 1; Lilljeborg , N. Acta Upsal. 1867, vi. Head very large, and body short. Dorsal fin none. Belly smooth. Baleen elongate, slender. Vertebræ of the neck anchylosed. Pectoral fin broad, truncated at the end; fingers 5. Tympanic bones rhombic; maxillary bones narrow. Capt. Maury’s Whale-Charts show that Right Whales are found in almost all seas, from the poles to within 35 or 30 degrees of latitude on

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Family 2. AGAPHELIDÆ. Scrag Whales.

Head moderate; body elongate; hinder part of the back keeled and notched. Cervical vertebræ free. Pectoral fin lanceolate. Fingers 4. Throat without plaits. No dorsal fin. Ribs single-headed. Mr. Cope “mentioned that he had an opportunity of examining a portion of a specimen of the Scrag Whale of Dudley, Balæna gibbosa of Erxleben, and ascertained that it represented a genus not previously known. It was a Fin-back Whale; but without dorsal fin or throat-folds, resembling superficially the genus

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Family 3. MEGAPTERIDÆ. Humpbacked Whales.

Megapterina, Gray , l. c. p. 113. Megapteridæ, Gray , Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 2. Dorsal fin low, broad; pectoral fin very long, with four very long fingers of many phalanges. Vertebræ 50 or 60; cervical vertebræ often anchylosed. Lateral process of the axis tardily ossified. Neural canal large, high, triangular. Ribs 14 or 15. Megaptera, Gray , l. c. pp. 113, 117; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 2; Lilljeborg , N. Acta Upsal. 1867, vi. Bladebone without acromion or coracoid process

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Family 4. PHYSALIDÆ. Finner Whales.

Physalina, Gray , l. c. pp. 114, 134. Physalinidæ, Gray , Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 2. Dorsal fin high, erect, compressed, falcate, about three-fourths the entire length from the nose. Pectoral fin moderate, with four short fingers of four or six phalanges. Vertebræ 55 or 64. Cervical vertebræ not anchylosed. Neural canal oblong, transverse. * Vertebræ 60 or 64; first rib single-headed (cf. p. 54 ). Benedenia, Gray , l. c. pp. 114, 135; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 2. Rostrum of s

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Family 5. BALÆNOPTERIDÆ. Pike Whales.

Balænopterina, Gray , l. c. p. 114. Balænoptera, Gray , l. c. p. 114; Lilljeborg , Nova Acta Upsal. vi. Balænopteridæ, Gray , Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 3. Dorsal fin high, erect, compressed, about two-thirds of the entire length from the nose. Pectoral fin moderate, with four short fingers. Vertebræ 50; cervical vertebræ sometimes anchylosed. Neural canal broad, trigonal. Ribs 11·11. The second cervical vertebra with a broad lateral expansion, perforated at the base. First rib single-he

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Section II. DENTICETE (cf. p. 35).

Denticete, Gray , l. c. pp. 62, 194; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 3. Odontoceti or Delphinoidea, Flower , l. c. p. 111. Teeth well developed in one or both jaws, sometimes deciduous. Palate without baleen. Head large or moderate, compressed. Tympanic bones two, dissimilar, separate, becoming united, sunk in a cavity in the base of the skull. Gullet large. The suborders in this section have certain relations to each other by which they may be arranged in two parallel series:— Division I. No

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Family 6. CATODONTIDÆ.

Catodontina, Gray , l. c. pp. 386, 387. Catodontidæ, Gray , Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 3. Head compressed, truncated in front, very large. Blowers separate, linear, in front of the upper part of the head. Mouth inferior, linear. Pectoral fin short, broad, truncate. Dorsal hump rounded. Skull elongate. Crown concave, surrounded by a high perpendicular wall formed by the doubled-up maxilla and occipital bones. Upper jaw toothless. Atlas free; rest of cervical vertebræ united by their bodie

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Family 7. PHYSETERIDÆ.

Physeterina, Gray , l. c. pp. 386, 390. Physeteridæ, Gray , Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 4. Head depressed, rounded in front. Blowers linear (often only the one on the left side open), at the back of the forehead. Mouth small, inferior, rounded. Dorsal fin compressed, falcate. Pectoral fin elongate, falcate. Skull short; crown concave; hinder part of the wall formed by the maxillaries, and divided, as it were, into two subequal parts by a central bony ridge, which is more or less twisted t

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Family 8. PLATANISTIDÆ.

Platanistidæ, Gray , l. c. pp. 62, 220; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 4. Platanistinæ, Flower , Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. vi. p. 114. Head long-beaked. Jaws slender, compressed. Skull—crown covered with the converging arch and reflexed edges of the maxillaries. “Costal cartilages not ossified. The tubercular and capitular articulations of the ribs blending together posteriorly. Cervical vertebræ all free. Pterygoid bones thin, not conforming in their mode of arrangement with either of the othe

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Family 9. INIIDÆ.

Iniidæ, Gray , l. c. pp. 62, 226; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 4. Platanistidæ (Iniinæ), Flower , Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. vi. p. 114. Fluviatile. Head beaked; beak bristly. Teeth in the jaws, rugulose, crowns with an internal lobe; permanent. Pectoral fin large, elongate, subfalcate. Back keeled behind, without any dorsal fin. Skull—jaw compressed; symphysis of lower jaw elongate, extending for more than half its length. Overlooking the form of the blower, Mr. Flower places this genus with

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Family 10. DELPHINIDÆ.

Delphinidæ, Gray , l. c. pp. 228, 393; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 4; Flower , Trans. Zool. Soc. vi. p. 113. Head beaked. Teeth in both jaws, conical or compressed, permanent, without any internal lobe, occupying nearly the whole length of the jaws. Back rounded, with a falcate dorsal fin; rarely absent. Skull with the maxilla expanded over the orbit, and more or less turned up on the edges. “Costal cartilages firmly ossified. Posterior ribs losing their capitular articulation, and only u

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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

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Family 12. GLOBIOCEPHALIDÆ.

Globiocephalidæ, Gray , l. c. pp. 62, 313; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 8. 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

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Family 13. ORCADÆ.

Orca, Gray , Cat. Seals &amp; Whales , p. 278; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 8. 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. Fig. 7. Orca stenorhyncha. Fig. 8. Orca capensis. Fig. 9. Orca stenorhyncha. Fig. 10. Orca capensis. Vertebræ 51 or 52:—C. 7. D. 11 or 12. L. and C. 33. The first three cervical vertebræ united into one mass

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Family 14. BELUGIDÆ.

Beluginæ, Flower , Trans. Zool. Soc. vi. p. 115. 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

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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 ossifie

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Family 16. HYPEROODONTIDÆ.

Hyperoodontina, Gray , l. c. p. 327. Hyperoodontidæ, Gray , Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 9. 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. Hyperoodon, Gray , l. c. pp. 327, 328; Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 9. Beak of the skull bent downwards: crest of the back of the beak sharp-edged, above as high as

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Family 17. EPIODONTIDÆ.

Epiodontina, Gray , Cat. S. &amp; W. p. 327. Epiodontidæ, Gray , Synops. Whales &amp; Dolph. p. 9. 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. Epiodon, Gray , l. c. pp. 327, 340; Synops. Whal

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