Anatomical Structure of certain of the Cetacea. 399 



The remarks I have to make as to the zoological arrange- 

 ment of the dugong, are of less interest than those regarding its 

 dentition, as being a question merely of nomenclature and sys- 

 tem. The dugong was first arranged with the walrus. CAM- 

 PER, in his natural history work, called in question the propriety 

 of this arrangement. He was followed by others, and, finally, by 

 Baron CUVIER, who determined the dugong, lamantin, and the 

 animal of STELLER, to belong naturally to the Cetacea, and they 

 were accordingly arranged under the head of Herbivorous Ceta- 

 cea. I confess that, from the time I commenced these inquiries 

 into the anatomy of the dugong, I felt much inclined to question 

 the propriety in their having separated this animal from others 

 to which it seemed naturally allied. The external form, it is 

 true, so far as regards the caudal termination of the body, greatly 

 resembles the dolphin, porpoise, and whales generally ; and there 

 are facts in the anatomy of the bones composing the skeleton of 

 this part of the body, such as the form of the bones of the pel- 

 vis, the presence of the bones having the form of the letter V, 

 found on the ventral aspect of the caudal vertebrae, which, taken 

 together with the complete enclosure of all the bones of the up- 

 per extremity, so as to render the articulations of the limb of 

 probably little use to the animal, are facts, it may be admitted, 

 in favour of its arrangement with the Cetacea ; but, when we re- 

 flect on the form of the cranium of the dugong, on the structure 

 of the molar teeth and tusks *, on the dentition of the animal 

 generally, on the structure of its stomach, position of the mam- 

 mae of the female so different from that of the Cetacea, one 

 cannot but be convinced, reflecting without prejudice on these 

 facts, that the dugong may be more naturally grouped with the 

 walrus, than with any of the whale tribe as yet described by na- 



The teeth in the true Cetacea, when present, are uniform. 



