423 
3 young, which had been caught on the coast near Whitstable, 
ent*, 
Through the kind agency of Mr. Beardsworth, the complete ske- 
leton of the older, and part of the skeleton of the younger specimen 
have been secured for the British Museum. The species is Hypero- 
odon rostratum. It is well figured, from a drawing by Mr. Beards- 
worth, in the ‘ Illustrated News’ for the 18th of November, 1860. 
There has been some discussion about the form of the blow-hole 
in this genus,—some, as Voigt and Wesmael, describing the ends of 
the opening as pointed forwards, as in other Dolphins, while Dale, 
Boussard and Doumel describe them as pointed backwards. Mr. 
Beardsworth, in his description, calls the blow-hole straight ; but his 
figure represents it as slightly crescent-shaped, with the ends pointing 
towards the nose; and Mr. Crotch, who has sent me a note on a 
specimen of a female Hyperoodon which was shot near Weston-super- 
Mare, as exactly agreeing with the specimen obtained at Kiel in 1801, 
only that the cusps of the blow-hole are directed forwards 3 and he 
inquires, ‘‘ Does the cusp of the lunate spiracle turned forward mean 
anything?” At any rate it appears to be the normal direction in 
this species. 
Mr. Beardsworth observes in his note :—* I enclose you a portion 
of thé food found in the stomach. There was more than half a 
bushel of this (which I am told is the claws of the Cuttle-fish), and 
nothing else.” 
It is not a new fact that Cetaceans, at least the Whales with 
teeth, feed on these animals; for the beaks of some Cephalopods 
are found interspersed in the substance of ambergris, which is a con- 
cretion found in the intestines or stomach of the Spermaceti Whale. 
Tn this substance they are in general few in number; but their pre- 
sence is so universal that the druggists do not consider the amber- 
gris true if they are not found in it, and they thus distinguish the 
artificial substitute from the real article in the market. 
The Black Fish (Globiocephalus macrorhynchus) is said to have 
the remains of Cuttle-fish in the stomach; and Bennett, in his 
‘Whaling Voyage,’ states, “the ordinary food of the Sperm Whale 
is the Cuttle-fish or Squad, Sepia” (p. 176). I suspect that Cuttle- 
fish or Squad, or even Sepia, is intended to represent the Linnean 
genus Sepia, not the genus as now restricted, and is synonymous 
with the class Cephalopoda: at least that must be the case in the 
whale now under consideration ; for if the beaks belonged to Deca- 
podous Cephalopods either of the genus Loligo or Sepia, there 
would no doubt be some remains of the dorsal shell of the Sepia, or 
of the dorsal glade of the Loligo and its allied genera, found inter- 
mixed with the beaks. 
The articles sent were certainly the horny beaks of a Cephalopod, 
and appear to be those of the common Ocfopus, or Sea Spider. 
* The person who procured the Whale is Mr. Smith. As his card shows a 
trade in an article that is new to me, I give it entire :—‘ Henry Smith, Horse 
Bridge, Whitstable, Fish Agent for Five-fingers, Mussels, and Sprats.” sup- 
pose the first are Star-fishes. 
