CONTRIBUTION TO THE ANATOMY OF THE CHINESE 

 FINLESS PORPOISE, NEOMERIS PHOCAENOIDES 



By A. Brazier Howell 



Of the Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture 



INTRODUCTION 



Among the spirit specimens of mammals in the United States 

 National Museum are several of the Chinese black finless porpoise, 

 NeoiJieris fliocaenoides (Cuvier), which were presented to the 

 Museum by the National Geographic Society in collections made by 

 F. R. Wulsin. Certain osteological features of one of these por- 

 poises were investigated by Remington Kellogg in connection with 

 another problem and his dissections indicated that unless some im- 

 mediate use were made of these specimens they would soon be worth- 

 less for any studies of the soft parts. The matter was brought to 

 the attention of Gerrit S. Miller, jr., and he generously permitted 

 the writer to make vv'hatever disposition of the material might seem 

 to him best. It was at first thought that the preservation was too 

 poor to permit of a dissection sufficiently accurate to be of great value, 

 but it was later found that although the condition was far from sat- 

 isfactory and such as to preclude fine work, observations of decided 

 interest were nevertheless being made upon the first specimen which 

 was being somewhat hastily examined, and in consideration both of 

 the rarity of this porpoise in the collections of the world and the 

 place in the research program of the writer of the investigation of 

 aquatic adaptations, it was decided that these should be presented in 

 print. A more careful and detailed dissection of a second specimen 

 was accordingly undertaken by the author, and upon this the present 

 contribution is based. 



The lot of spirit specimens under consideration had been slit from 

 the vent to the throat and inimersed in alcohol which had failed to 

 penetrate sufficiently for proper preservation. Before the arrest of 

 decomposition the deeper portions of the larger muscle masses had be- 

 come putrid, and when cut into the coarser fibers separated at a touch, 



No. 2662.— Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. 70, Art. 13. 



20442—27 1 



