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
Inhab. North Pacific (_Capt. Delville, R.N._).
Skull, from the Zoological Society’s collection.
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 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.
Beluga, _Gray_, _Cat. S. & W._ pp. 231, 306, 393; _Synops.
Whales & Dolph._ p. 9.
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.
Beluga catodon, _Gray_, _l. c._ p. 307, fig. 61; _Synops.
Whales & Dolph._ p. 9, tab. 29. f. 3 (tongue).
Delphinus canadensis, _Gray_, _Synops. Whales & Dolph._ t. 5
(head false, with beak).
Beluga albicans, _Gervais_, _Ostéogr. Cét._ t. 44. f. 1-5.
Delphinapterus, _Lucas_, _Vidensk. Selsk. Skr._ Række 5, Band
ix. tab. 8 (skull and teeth, showing how they are worn).
Inhab. North Sea, mouths of rivers.
1. Beluga rhinodon, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._
1865, p. 5, 1869, p. 13, fig. 1.
Inhab. Arctic seas.
2. Beluga declivis, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._
1865, p. 5, 1869, p. 14.
Inhab. Arctic seas.
3. Beluga angustata, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._
1869, p. 20, figs. 2 & 3.
Beluga concreta, _Cope_, _Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._ 1865,
p. 5.
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.
4. Beluga canadensis, _Wyman_, _Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist._
1865.
Inhab. Canada.
I believe it to be the same as the former.
2. Beluga Kingii.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account