3 



CETACEANS. 



LESSER SPERM-WHALE. 



Genus Cogia. 



The lesser sperm-whale (Cogia breviceps) is a little-known species, differing 

 widely both in size and form 'from the sperm-whale ; and more resembling a 

 porpoise in both these respects. It agrees, however, with the sperm-whale in having 

 no functional teeth in the upper jaw and a full series in the lower. The rudimentary 

 upper teeth are reduced to a single pair, or may be wanting ; and there are only from 

 nine to twelve pairs of teeth in the lower jaw. These teeth, which are rather long 



and slender, with curved 

 summits, differ from 

 those of the sperm- 

 whale in having a coat- 

 ing of enamel ; and the 

 two branches of the 

 lower jaw are united for 

 less than half their 

 length. The upper sur- 

 face of the hinder part 

 of the skull is hollowed, 

 with a thick elevated 

 rim behind and at the 

 base ; and the rostral 

 portion of the skull is 

 shorter and more 

 rapidly tapering than in 



the larger species. This whale attains a length of about 10 feet ; and, as already 

 said, is not unlike a porpoise in general appearance. The head is about one-sixth 

 the total length, and has a bluntly-pointed muzzle, with the small mouth opening 

 on the under surface, far behind the extremity. The back carries a large fin. The 

 colour of this species is glistening black above, becoming paler beneath. 



The lesser sperm-whale is known only from a comparatively small number of 

 individuals obtained from such widely-separated areas as the Indian and Australian 

 seas, the Cape of Good Hope, and the North Pacific; and we may accordingly 

 assume that it has probably an almost cosmopolitan distribution. Nothing has at 

 present been ascertained in regard to its habits. 



THE WATER-WORN SKULL, WITHOUT THE LOWER JAW, OF A WHALE 

 ALLIED TO THE BOTTLENOSE. 



(From Sir W. H. Flower, Proc. Zool Soc., 1882.) 



THE BOTTLENOSE-WHALE. 



Genus Hyperoodon. 



The bottlenose-whale (Hyperoodon rostratus), which is one of the most 

 common Cetaceans stranded on the British shores, is the first representative 

 of a group of four allied genera distinguished from the sperm-whales by the 

 functional teeth being reduced to a single pair, or in one case two pairs ; these 



