234 ZOOLOGY. 



The swimming -paws are small, and resemble those 

 of the common Dolphin ; an erect triangular fin oc- 

 cupies the centre of the back ; the tail-fin is four feet 

 broad, and shaped like that of the common Dolphin. 

 A single spiracle, of crescentic form, opens upon the 

 upper and back part of the head. 



The teeth are straight, conical, and set widely apart. 

 In the examples from which I describe they numbered 

 6-7 3 6-8. There were no teeth in front of the upper 

 jaw; but, in their place, sockets in the gum, to receive 

 the corresponding teeth of the lower jaw. The tongue 

 is round, thick, and fleshy. 



A few Whale-lice (Larunda ceti) adhere to the skin 

 of this cetacean ; and the cavities of the spouting- 

 canal, as well as the stomach, are infested by clusters 

 of worms, resembling the entozoic round-worm, Lum- 

 bricus teres. In all the specimens I examined, the 

 contents of the stomach were chiefly cuttle-fish. 



Black-Fish usually roam the ocean in very large 

 troops ; although a solitary individual of the species is 

 occasionally noticed. They are active and watchful 

 when alarmed, but often betray little concern at the 

 presence of a ship or boats : I have seen a school of 

 these whales approach the ship, dive under her keel, 

 and, rising to the surface on the opposite side, continue 

 their course without any appearance of alarm. 



They appear to inhabit the greater portion of the 

 aqueous globe, uninfluenced by the remoteness or 

 vicinity of land. We observed examples in many 

 parallels of latitude, between the Equator and 50 N. 

 and 35 S., in the central parts of the ^ Atlantic and 

 Pacific Oceans ; as well as off the coast of California, 

 and in the Indian Archipelago. 



Sperm-whalers often attack this species with their 



