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
Triangle in front of the blowers flat. Teeth large, conical, acute,
permanent. Pectoral fin falcate. Arm-bone short, broad. Metacarpal
bones five, close together. Fingers very unequal, second and third much
longer than the rest, six- or seven-jointed; first finger very short,
two-jointed; third finger short, four-jointed, rather longer than the
first two joints of the third finger. Tooth-line of the upper jaw
nearly to the notch; of the lower jaw rather shorter. Lower jaw strong.
Symphysis short, about as long as the space occupied by the first four
teeth. Teeth large, conical, simple.
Vertebræ 50:—C. 7. D. 10. L. 9. C. 24.
The first to the sixth cervical vertebræ united by their bodies and
dorsal processes. Bladebone broad, with large coracoid and acromion
processes, which are much nearer together than usual.
* _Beak blunt, truncated in front._ Pseudorca.
1. Pseudorca crassidens.
Pseudorca crassidens, _Gray_, _Cat. S. & W._ p. 290. no. 1;
_Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 8; _Gervais_, _Ostéogr. Cét._ t.
50. f. 7-17.
Beak about two-thirds the length of the brain-cavity, broad, rather
tapering on the sides, truncated in front; teeth 8.
Inhab. North Sea.
** _Beak narrow, tapering, and rounded in front._ Neoorca.
2. Pseudorca meridionalis.
B.M.
Pseudorca meridionalis, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 291. no. 2, figs.
58, 59; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p. 8; _Gervais_, _Ostéogr.
Cét._ t. 50.
Beak as long as the brain-cavity, tapering on the side, and rounded in
front. Teeth 8.
Inhab. Van Diemen’s Land.
13. ORCAELLA.
Orcaella, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 285; _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ p.
7.
Head blunt, rounded, very convex. Body moderate. Dorsal fin moderate,
more or less behind the middle of the back; the pectoral fin broad.
Skull:—brain-case subglobular; beak very short, two-thirds the length
of the brain-case, tapering, flat above. Intermaxillary half as wide as
beak. Teeth small, conical, 12·12 / 12·12 or 14·14 / 14·14.
1. Orcaella brevirostris.
B.M.
Orcaella brevirostris, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 285; _Synops. Whales
& Dolph._ p. 7; _Anderson’s Icon. ined._ (animal and skull).
Phocæna brevirostris, _Owen_, _Trans. Zool. Soc._ vi. t. 9.
Globiocephalus indicus (part.), _Blyth_.
Black; body stout; dorsal fin subcentral.
Inhab. Estuaries of the Ganges (_Dr. Anderson_); Madras (_Elliot_).
2. Orcaella fluminalis.
Orcaella fluminalis, _Anderson’s MS. & Icon. ined._
Dolphin of the Irawady, _Anderson_, _P. Z. S._ 1870, pp. 220,
544.
“Body slender, dirty white; dorsal fin more posterior.”
Inhab. River Irawady, deep channels, from 300 to 1000 miles from the sea
(_Dr. Anderson_).
Tribe V. PHOCÆNINA.
Lateral wings of the maxilla shelving down over the orbit. Triangle in
front of the blower convex. Teeth compressed.
14. PHOCÆNA.
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