86 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 'JZ 



type, very near the most usual Delphinid-type, differing from the 

 Plafanistidcc especially in the roofed over temporal fossa. Its more 

 exact position among the Delphinids cannot yet be deiermined. 



C\rtodclphis is only a new name for Schizodclphis given by Abel 

 in 1899 (/. c.) to include a series of species which previously were 

 most often referred to Schizodclphis, among them the type of the 

 genus, S. sulcatus Gervais. Eastman (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 

 51, 1907, pp. 83-84) has already protested against this superfluous 

 new name as well as against the following. 



Acr odd phis is likewise essentially a mere new name, a synonym of 

 Champsodclphis. It was given by Abel in 1899 0- ^•)- ^t first 

 Acrodclphis was to include the type of Champsodclphis, Ch. macro- 

 genius (Laurillard) Gervais or iiiacrognafIiits Brandt. Later, in 1905, 

 Abel excluded the type of Champsodclphis from the genus, with 

 doubtful right ; but most of the species which he now includes in 

 Acrodclphis were earlier called Champsodclphis. 



Palccophocccna was based by Abel (1905, Jahrb. k. k. geol. Reich- 

 sanst., vol. 55, /. c.) on an imperfect piece of a braincase and a few 

 fragments of the rest of the skeleton from a Tertiary deposit on the 

 coast of Crimea. Abel considers it proved that this is a near relative 

 of Phocccna. Possibly it will sometime turn out that he is right ; but 

 for the present there is no means of deciding the question about 

 nearest relationship. The known piece of skull shows only such 

 general features that nothing exact can be said except that it comes 

 from a Delphinid. Only in the form of the teeth have Phocccna and 

 its relative Ncomcris a peculiarity which distinguishes them from 

 other quite ordinarily formed Delphinids ; but the teeth in Palccopho- 

 ccena are not known. 



Protophocccna is also established by Abel (Odontocetes du Bol- 

 derien, 1905, pp. 139-141, with illustrations), on the anterior, very 

 imperfect part of a skull, without teeth, from the Tertiary deposits 

 at Antwerp. Abel refers it to the '" Phoccctiincc." There is actually 

 nothing whatever, apart from the small size, that could lead one to 

 think of Phoccena; on the contrary, the strong cushion-shaped swell- 

 ing and the widening out which the intermaxillary shows in front of 

 the nasal aperture suggests rather Lagcnorhynchus or " Grampus." 

 For the present the question about nearest relationship cannot be 

 settled. 



Pithanodclphis is established by Abel (Odontocetes du Bolderien, 

 1905, pp. 142-145, with illustrations) on the basis of Phoccenopsis 

 corniitus du Bus from Tertiary strata at Antwerp. Abel refers it to 



