380 AUDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS;. 



Physalus Sibbaldii (pago IGO). 

 Section *** of the genus, and the description oi P7u/salus Sihhaldii, 

 are to bo removed, as Mr. Flower, who has examined the skeleton at 

 Hull, has determined that it is either the same species as, or very 

 nearly allied to Cuvierius latirostris, p. 165. 



Cuvierius latirostris (page 165). 



Change name to Cuvierius Sihhaldii, and add : — 



Physalus Sibbaldii, Gray, P. Z. S. 1847, 92 j Catalogue of Seals and 

 Whales, 160 ; Flower, P. Z. S. 1865, 472. 



Mr. Flower, in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' 1865, 

 p. 472, observes that the skeleton on which Dr. Gray established 

 Physalus Sihhaldii, preserved in the museum of the Literary and 

 Philosophical Society of Hull, is quite distinct from the common 

 Fin-Whale (Physalus antiquortim. Gray), and agrees very closely 

 with the skeleton at Utrecht (now in the British Museum) which he 

 described under the name oi Physalus latirostris (P. Z. S. 1864, 410), 

 and states that he proposes to " withdraw the specific name of lati- 

 rostris in favour of the prior one given by Dr. Gray." 



He gives a sketch of the principal characters, showing where the 

 Hull skeleton agrees with and differs from that of Physalus anti- 

 quorum. The Hull and Utrecht skeleton are nearly in the same stage 

 of growth. The general size and proportions of the two specimens 

 very nearly correspond, the Hull one being rather the largest ; it is 

 stated to have the total length of 47 feet, the cranium being 10| feet ; 

 while the Utrecht specimen is about 43 or 44 feet, the skull being 

 9 feet 10 inches. If full-grown the specimens would probably reach 

 the length of 60 feet, being rather less than that of P. antiquoruin. 



Both skeletons have 64 vertebra) ; in P. antiquoruin the vertebroo 

 never appear to exceed 62. The foramen in the transverse process 

 of the axis is smaller in the Hull than in the Utrecht specimen — 

 probably only an individual variation. 



The rostral portion of the skull is not quite so wide in proportion 

 in the Hull as in the Utrecht specimen ; the breadth across the middle 

 of the beak in the latter is to the length of the skull as 27 to 100, in 

 the former as 26 to 100. The actual breadth (measured across the 

 upper surface following the curve) in the HuU specimen is 33 inches, 

 each maxillary being 10 and the premaxillary 5 inches, the space 

 between the latter 6 inches. The nasal bones in both skeletons differ 

 from P. anfiquorum in being slightly hollowed on the upper surface 

 at the anterior margins. This character is most strongly marked in 

 the Hull specimen. 



The stylo-hyals are thicker, especially near the lower end, in both 

 the skeletons than in the common Fin-WTiale. 



The sternum, which is so remarkable in the Utrecht specimen for 

 its almost rudimentary state, is wanting in the Hull specimen, but 

 may have been overlooked from its small size. The Hull specimen 

 has 1 6 ribs : if this is the normal number in the species, it is a good 

 specific character, as P. antiquoruin has never been recorded to have 



