Supplement to the catalogue of seals and whales in the British MuseumGray, John Edward
Science
Supplement to the catalogue of seals and whales in the British Museum
Gray, John Edward
Seals (Animals); Whales
Suborder III. PHYSETEROIDEA.
Physeteroidea, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 195; _Synops. Whales &
Dolph._ p. 3.
Physeteridæ (Physeterinæ), _Flower_, _Tr. Zool. Soc._ vol. vi.
p. 113.
Head blunt. Nostrils longitudinal, parallel, or diverging, each covered
with a valve, the right often obliterated. Teeth many in the lower
jaw, fitting into holes in the gums of the upper one. Lachrymal bone
none distinct. “Costal cartilages not ossified. The hinder ribs losing
their tubercular and retaining their capitular articulation with the
vertebræ. The greater number of the cervical vertebræ ankylosed together.
Pterygoid bones thick, produced backwards, meeting in the middle line,
and not involuted to form the outer wall of the postpalatine air-sinus.
Symphysis of mandible of moderate or excessive length. No functional
teeth in the upper jaw. Mandibular teeth various, often much reduced in
number. Lachrymal bones usually large and distinct. Bones of the skull
raised so as to form an elevated prominence or crest behind the anterior
nares. Orbit of small or moderate size. Pectoral limbs small. Dorsal fin
usually present.”—_Flower._
Family 6. CATODONTIDÆ.
Catodontina, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 386, 387.
Catodontidæ, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & 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 bodies and spines into a
consolidated mass.
1. CATODON.
Catodon, _Gray_, _l. c._ pp. 196, 386, 387; Synops. Whales &
Dolph. p. 3.
Physeter, _Flower_, _Trans. Zool. Soc._ vol. vi. p. 309.
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