I02 SEALS AND WHALES OF THE BRITLSH SEAS. 



and flattened above, so as almost to touch one another, whereas, in H. 

 rostraium, they are rather sharp-edged above, and separated by a considerable 

 interval. In H. latifrons, these crests rise absolutely higher than the 

 occipital region of the skull, which is not the case in the common species."* 

 Individuals possessing these peculiarities have been taken three or four times 

 on the British coast, and on one occasion, in Greenland. Another was 

 stranded in 1873, at Hasvig, near Hammerfest, and identified by Professor 

 Sars from its remains ; its length was 30 feet (Norse), and the colour dark on 

 the back, but lighter beneath. f It has, however, been suggested, with much 

 probability, by Eschricht, that the.se individuals are, after all, only the males 

 of the preceding species ; for all the specimens with broad crests, of which 

 the sex was noted, were males. 



CUVIER S WHALE. 



Cuvier's Whale [Ziphius cavirostris, Cuv. ; Epiodon desmarestii, J. E. 

 Gray, ' Cat. Seals and Whales '), another of this remarkable group, has been 

 met with once on the coast of Shetland, and it, or its remains, have been 

 found about five or six times in other parts of Europe, and also, it is believed, 

 at the Cape of Good Hope, the east coast of South America, and New 

 Zealand. Professor Turner is of opinion that the geographical range of 

 Ziphius cavirostris equals that possessed by the Spermaceti Whale.:]: In 

 colour this species is believed to resemble Sowerby's Whale ; it has two 

 teeth, one on each side of the lower jaw, close to the extremity. 



* Bell's 'Brit. Quad.' p. 426. f Collett, 'Norges Pattedyrfauna,' p. 99. 



\ 'Zoology of H. M. S. Challenger,' part iv., p. 29. 



