xii AFFINITIES OF ZEUGLODON 385 



instead of rudimentary like those of other Whales, the blow- 

 hole lies more in the middle of the face. The skull, too, is 

 not Whale -like in a number of other points. Thus the pre- 

 maxillaries take their fair share in the outline of the upper jaw ; 

 and, furthermore, bear the incisor teeth. The parietals meet 

 above in a crest and are not excluded from the roof of the 

 skull. The vertebrae of the neck are in no way shortened ; 

 neither are they fused together. The ribs are double-headed, and 

 the sternum is made up of several pieces. Some naturalists, 

 particularly Professor D'Arcy Thompson, 1 have assigned a relation- 

 ship to the Seals to these ancient Cetacea ; but others 2 have 

 disputed this view chiefly on the grounds that the characters 

 which appear to be Seal-like are simply characters which are 

 generalised and so far at most not Whale -like. Thus the long 

 neck and the serrated character of the teeth may be accepted as 

 Seal-like on the one hand ; but on the other, a simple serrated 

 tooth and a long neck are not by any means 'features of organisa- 

 tion which we should consider out of the way in an ancient form 

 of Cetacean which probably preyed upon fish. The humerus of 

 Zeuglodon, according to Mr. Lydekker, puts out of court any 

 possible near relationship to the Seals. But the matter under 

 dispute can be further studied by reference to the three memoirs 

 quoted below. 



1 Thompson, Studies Mus. Dundee, i. 1890 ; and C. It. Congris de Zoologie, 1889, 

 p. 225. 



2 Lydekker, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1892, p. 560. 



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