436 Zoological Society. 



Additional Observations on the Cetacea of the British 

 Islands. By J. E. Gray, Esq., F.R.S. etc. 



1 . Since my former paper was read, I have been enabled, by the 

 kindness of Professor Goodsir, to examine the specimens of Cetacea 

 which were prepared by Dr. Knox, and which now form part of the 

 anatomical collection of the Edinburgh University. 



The large male whale which came ashore on the 5th of October 

 1831, and was seventy-eight feet long, which Dr. Knox in his Cata- 

 logue calls Baltena maximus borealis, and of which he made many 

 most interesting preparations of the soft parts, is one of the most 

 beautiful and perfect skeletons I have yet seen. The latter is for the 

 present exhibited in the elephant- house at the Zoological Gardens 

 of Edinburgh, but unfortunately it is suspended so high that I could 

 not take any measurements. It is a Physalus, very nearly allied to 

 what I have called Physalus antiquorum ; but it differs from the spe- 

 cimen taken at Plymouth in the lateral processes of the cervical 

 vertebras being higher compared with their length, and more trun- 

 cated at the end ; in the third and fourth cervical vertebrae not being 

 so much expanded beyond the aperture; in the fifth being still 

 thinner ; and in the sixth, instead of a complete ring, having only an 

 elongated, arched, upper lateral process, and a very short, rather de- 

 pressed lower one; and the seventh only an upper one. Should 

 this species prove distinct, it might be distinguished as Physalus 

 borealis. 



Dr. Spittal, who saw it when first cast ashore, informs me it was 

 slate or grey, and the tail white (probably beneath). The baleen 

 appeared at the distance black. 



2. In the anatomical museum there is the skeleton and soft part 

 of a Dolphin or Bottle-nose, which was sent to Dr. Knox from 

 Orkney in May 1825. It was a female and weighed fourteen stone. 

 It is described in Dr. Knox's ■ Catalogue of the Anatomical Prepa- 

 rations of Whales,' Edinburgh 1838, as No. 84, Delphinus Tursio. 



It is a nearly adult specimen of Delphinus leucopleurus, lately de- 

 scribed by Rasch, Mag. Zool. 1843, p. 369, from a specimen taken 

 at Christiania in Norway, figured by me from a Norwegian specimen 

 in the ■ Zoology of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror,' under the name of 

 Lagenorhynchus leucopleurus. 



Dr. Knox gives the following measurements: entire length 9 ft. 

 6 in. ; circumference 3 ft. 2 in. Pectoral 10 inches long j tail 1 ft. 2 in. 

 wide ; and the gape 9 inches. 



It is a most interesting addition to the British fauna, being the 

 second of this genus added within the last year. 



3. I may remark, that Balcena minor borealis of Dr. Knox in the 

 same collection is the Balanoptera rosirata of my papers. 



4. In the same collection there is a stuffed skin of a foetus of a 

 Northern or Right Whale {Balmna Mysticetus), two feet four inches 

 long, showing the large flap near the edge of the lower lip, " destined 

 to cover in the baleen," and a most beautiful skeleton of the same 

 specimen. The bones of the head are distinctly ossified, but the 



