PORPOISES AND DOLPHINS 301 



infrequently brought into the native courts to recover a share 

 in the capture of fish, in which a plaintiff's dolphin has been 

 held to have filled the nets of a rival fisherman.'" 



One of the specimens described by Anderson was a pregnant 

 female 6 feet io| inches in length, carrying a full-time foetus 

 2 feet 9! inches long or about two-fifths the length of the 

 parent animal. 



Genus Grampus. 

 RISSO'S DOLPHIN {Grampus griseus). PI. VII a. 



Risso's Dolphin is the only representative of the genus in 

 which it is placed. It is unfortunate that the name " Grampus " 

 has had to be used for the generic name as it makes for confusion 

 with the alternative popular name of the Killer Whale which, 

 it will be remembered, is also " Grampus ", so that a point 

 to be borne in mind is that the two animals are by no means 

 closely related, and neither in their external appearance 

 nor in their habits do they in the least resemble one 

 another. According to Beddard the derivation of the word 

 " grampus " is variously given as " grand poisson " and 

 " gras poisson ". 



In this beakless dolphin the front of the head rises almost 

 perpendicularly from the tip of the upper jaw, and there is 

 only the very faintest depression of the " forehead " before it 

 bends round on to the dorsal surface. The line of the mouth 

 as seen in side view is at first horizontal, but presently is 

 directed upward and backward in a curve which ends just in 

 front of and below the eye. The dorsal fin, placed midway 

 along the back', is high, pointed and with concave hinder 

 margin. The flippers are moderately long and narrow and 

 the flukes have the normal dolphin-like outline. 



The body colour is grey, which on the fins and tail deepens 

 to black, and on the under surface becomes much lighter or 

 even white ; there is no sharp delimitation of pigmented and 

 unpigmented areas. Very commonly the skin is scored 

 with long, narrow, white marks — a most conspicuous feature 

 when they are present. It is believed that they are the healed 

 scars of wounds caused by the teeth of other individuals of 

 the same species. 



