FAMILY MANATID.E. 123 



(EXTRA-LIMITAL.) 



Genus Manatus. Grinders eighteen above and eighteen below ; the upper square, the lower longer 



than wide, all with two transverse ridges and a heel, becoming larger on the lower posterior ones. 



Pectoral fins with vestiges of nails at their edges. Body ending in a rounded caudal fin. 



M. americanus. (PI. 30, fig. 2, a, b; and PI. 32, fig. 4, Skull:) Body elliptical; snout truncated; 



skull elongated in proportion to its breadth ; lower edge of the lower jaw straight. Tail rounded. 



Length 1 - 20 feet. Florida. 



The Manati is still hunted for its flesh, among the keys and lagoons scattered along the southern 

 part of the peninsula of Florida. They are struck with the harpoon. The largest of which I have 

 heard any account, weighed more than a ton. The flesh is highly prized as a savory and nutri- 

 tive food. The New World of October, 1841, contains an interesting account of the habits of this 

 species ; the female is described as having a teat under each swimming paw. Through the polite- 

 ness of Mr. Bell, I have been permitted to make the following observations on the skull of the 

 Manati, which died a few months after I had drawn up the description cited above. It was a young 

 animal, as was manifest by the existence of the sockets of the incisors in the intermaxillaries of the 

 upper jaw. There were five prominent molars on each side, gradually enlarging behind, and then 

 not yet extruded. In the lower jaw, the teeth were similar in number and position. The curve of 

 the lower jaw (see figure) is nearly as great as in the Senegal species, and almost equals that of the 

 latirostris. 

 M. latirostris. (Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res. p. 71, plate.) Lower edge of lower jaw curved; 



snout very wide before the eyes. Length 8-10 feet. Florida. 

 M. giganteus. Fossil. (Id. lb. Vol. 20, p. 385.) Western shore of Maryland. 



Genus Zeuglodon, Chven. (Fossil.) Twelve molars in the upper jaw; in the lower, . Teeth 



with double fangs and a horizontal section of the crowns, suggesting the idea of two teeth tied or 



yoked together ; hence the generic name. 



Z. harlani. (Owen, Geol. Soc. Lond. 1838; Loud. Mag. 1839, p. 209. Basilosaurus, Harlan, 



Am. Phil. Soc. 1834; Med. and Phys. Res. p. 349.) From eighty to one hundred feet long. 



Occurs in the horizontal limestone of Alabama, the most recent of the cretaceous group ; also in 



Arkansas. 



FAMILY II. BALJSNID^. 



Teeth none, or only in the lower jaw ; when absent, their place supplied above by thin horny 

 plates termed baleen, or whalebone. Skin smooth, and almost entirely destitute of hairs ; 

 with a thick mass of fat beneath. Two inguinal teats, placed near the vent. Nostrils 

 assuming the form of spiracles. Gregarious. Piscivorous; often carnivorous. 



Obs. This family comprises the most bulky of created beings. They have a strong exter- 

 nal resemblance to fish ; and to increase this resemblance, many of them have a callous 

 projection on the back, like a- dorsal fin. Upwards of seventeen species- have been enume- 

 rated by writers, but many of them rest upon uncertain authority. The history of this family 



