WHALES AND PORPOISES 4i 



singly or in pairs. This whale is still found pretty frequently 

 in British waters. One was caught in the Thames above 

 London Bridge in 1783, and nearly a hundred years afterwards 

 (1882) a pair entered the Thames and were killed there. It 

 is of very common occurrence round the Shetland Islands, and 

 is frequently stranded on the coast of Norfolk and along the 

 British Channel. 



It is curious that this whale appears to be unknown elsewhere 

 in the west of Europe than on the coasts of the British Islands 

 and of Northern France. Its chief area of distribution at the 

 present time is the Arctic Ocean. It, or a closely allied species, 

 is found fossil in East Anglia. 



Ziphius cavirostris. Cuvier's Whale 



This remarkable creature is very rare, only one example 



having been found in British waters (off the mainland of 



Shetland). In Cuvier's Whale the lower jaw, when covered by its 



integuments, is larger and more prominent than the upper jaw, 



which it overhangs. There are two conical teeth in the lower 



jaw, placed in the front, so that when the jaws are closed these 



teeth project in front of the muzzle of the upper jaw. Some 



specimens of this Ziphioid from the Mediterranean are stated to 



have the skin of the jaws set with hard bony tubercles. In the 



skull of this animal there are but slight indications of the bony 



crests so common in most of the other Ziphioids. The colour 



of this whale appears to be uncertainly known. It is possible 



that it is dark gray above and whitish on the belly, with the 



dark gray portion of the body marked with irregular white 



streaks.^ Ziphius in one or more species is (however rare) of 



world-wide distribution, having been met with off the coast of 



South Africa and of South America, New Zealand, and the 



Mediterranean. 



1 These whitish streaks and scratches, found on the thin outer skin of so 

 many Ziphioids and Dolphins, are said to be due to blisters caused by the 

 sharp suckers of cuttlefish. 



