THE BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN. 387 



the part of its possessor, and goes far toward confirming some of the 

 current reports on this subject. It is said that dolphins have been 

 tamed and taught to feed from the hand of their instructor, besides 

 performing sundry feats at his bidding. Sailors still believe m its pos- 

 sessing a taste for music, and when they desire to harpoon one, are 

 reported to whistle in concert, with a view of keeping the dolphin still 

 till the iron can be thrown. 



The Dolphin produces only one young one at a birth, and is a very 

 tender and careful parent. 



GENUS DELPHINAPTERUS. 



The White-beaked Dolphin, Ddphinaptcrus Pcronii, bears also the 

 names of the Right-whale Porpoise and Peron's Dolphin. It is 

 the only species known, and can be distinguished by the white beak, 

 abdomen, and pectoral fins, the rest of the body being black. It is 

 a Southern variety, and confined to the Atlantic Ocean, between the 

 opposite coasts of Africa and Brazil. 



GENUS TURSIO. 



This genus contains seven species, one of which has been found in 

 Philadelphia harbor. They are all rarer than the ordinary dolphin. 



The Bottle-NOSED Dolphin, Tnrsio erebennus, usually measures 

 seven or eight feet in length ; its back is deeply tinged with purple, but 

 the abdomen is grayish-white. It is distinguished from the common 

 dolphin by the projection of the lower jaw beyond the upper ; the teeth 

 never exceed one hundred in number. This species is sometimes called 

 the " Blunt-toothed Dolphin," but the shape of the teeth which led to 

 this appellation has been proved to be not the normal one ; as skulls 

 exist in which the teeth are as sharp as in the ordinary dolphin. 



