The throat of a _Ziphius_ from New Zealand was described by Messrs. Scott and Parker[253] as having three grooves on each side. Whether this form is the same as von Haast's _Z. novae zelandiae_ is a matter of doubt; but the individual to which his name has been applied was 26 feet long, and had but a single groove on each side. Even in the external characters of many Whales many points require clearing up. Our knowledge of _Ziphius_ dates from the year 1804, when a skull "completely petrified in appearance" was picked up upon the Mediterranean coast of France, and described by the great Cuvier. It was forty years before another specimen was found. In the New Zealand specimen of von Haast already referred to, the body was scored by numerous lacerations. These wounds may have been due to fights among the Whales themselves; the forwardly-situated teeth would be capable of inflicting such wounds. But it has also been stated that the armed suckers of gigantic cuttle-fish are responsible for these scratches. _Hyperoodon_ is the most easily-distinguishable genus of Ziphioid Whales. Its characters are the following:--The skull has enormously-developed maxillary crests in the adult male; the mesethmoid is not fully ossified. There is but a single tooth to each ramus of the lower jaw, besides, of course, the usual small teeth in the upper jaw. The vertebral formula is C 7, D 9, L 9, Ca 18. The cervicals are fused into one mass, more or fewer being free in other Ziphioids. The sternum consists of three pieces only, the last of which is bifid posteriorly. The name _Hyperoodon_ was given to this Whale by Colonel Lacepede on account of the rough papillae upon the palate, which {371} were mistaken by that observer for teeth. It is curious that the name is really appropriate in spite of this mistake, though of course it would be so to all the Ziphioids. In more than one feature this genus comes nearest of all the Ziphiinae to _Physeter_. Its enormous maxillary crests are paralleled in that Whale; but in _Hyperoodon_ their great thickness contrasts with the thinness of those of the Cachalot. The correspondence in the attachment of a rib to its vertebra by both heads is noteworthy. It is remarkable that in this particular _Hyperoodon_ is more like _Physeter_ than the supposed nearest ally of the latter--_Kogia_. Of this genus two species are known. The best known is the common northern _H. rostratum_ (with many aliases); the second species from the southern hemisphere, _H. planifrons_, is only known from a single water- and pebble-worn skull. Its identification, however, depends upon the known accuracy of the late Sir William Flower.