HYPEROODON OF HONFLEUR. 197 



over, the snout is flat, and the horns of Its spiracle 

 look backwards (Cuv. Oss. Foss. 325) ; while in the 

 aodon the snout is nearly cjlindrical, and the horns 

 of the hlow-hole look forward. (Lesson. 133). 

 Besides, there are three great occipital and maxil- 

 lary crests, which go over the head, and are se- 

 parated by deep furrows. Cuyier remarks concern- 

 ing it, this cranium difi'ers entirely from the form 

 peculiar to the dolphins, and alone requires that the 

 animal should be placed in a distinct genus. (Oss. 

 Foss. V. 226.) 



As characters, then, we adduce the peculiar form 

 of the head and skeleton; the head being higher 

 than it is broad : the forehead, which is very pro- 

 minent, terminates suddenly in a flat beak, which 

 is oval at its extremity. The pectorals are very 

 small ; and the dorsal, but little developed, is within 

 a fifth of the whole length, from the tail. The 

 colour is a bro^vnish black, verging towards white 

 beneath. Its u^ual dimensions are upwards of 

 twenty feet. It appears to be a rare variety, and 

 not to live in herds. It has very seldom been met 

 with. Its habits are very little known. Hunter's 

 specimen was caught in the Thames above London 

 Bridge. Besides the skeleton of this one in his 

 museum, Cuvier states there was also the cranium 

 of another of the same species, which must have 

 belonged to an individual nearly forty feet in length. 



