468 Miscellaneous. 



apparatus. In consequence of this connexion, in fact, the nervous 

 centres connected with the muscles suflFer some displacements in 

 relation to the changes of form that the body undergoes when the 

 animal retracts or expands itself; and the nerves themselves, by 

 virtue of the muscular envelope with which they are provided, 

 being able to elongate or shorten themselves, form active bands, 

 which intervene in the modifications which the movements of the 

 animal cause. — Comptes Bendus, September 30, 1872, pp. 769- 

 771. 



On Delphinus Desmarestii, Risso {Aliama Desmarestii, Gray). 

 By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.E.S. 



Risso, in his ' llistoire Naturelle de I'Europe Meridionale,' de- 

 scribes and figures a species of dolphin under the name of Delpliinus 

 Desmarestii (vol. iii. p. 24, t. 2. f. 3). As the figures of the two 

 dolphins on the preceding plate are accurate, and his figures in 

 general reliable, and the figure itself agrees with the description, I 

 am inclined to regard it as correct until it is proved otherwise. It 

 has been considered the same as Zijjhius cavirostris of Cuvier, 

 a ziphioid whale. It is so unlike aU the other ziphioid whales 

 known that it may be considered one of the whales requiring fur- 

 ther examination. Instead of having the rounded head and short 

 cylindrical beak and small pectoral and dorsal fin common to all the 

 ziphioid whales, it has an elongated, conical, tapering head, acute in 

 front, with two teeth produced in front of the lower jaw, elongate- 

 lanceolate pectoral fins low down on the sides of the body, like the 

 Grampus and Ohhiocepludus, and a large elongated truncated dorsal 

 fin ; and the body is marked with a multitude of irregularly placed 

 white lines, as in Grampus. The female described and figured was 

 nearly 20 feet long. 



In the P. Z. S. 1864, p. 242, I proposed a genus for this dolphin 

 under the name of Aliama; but I unwiselj' placed the Hyperoodon de 

 Corse, Doumet, Bull. Soc. Cuvier. 1842, p. 207, t. 1. f. 2, and Del- 

 phinus Philippii, Cocco, Erich. Arch. 1846, p. 204, t. 4. f. 6, which 

 are both true ziphioid whales, probably belonging to the genus Epi- 

 odon, as synonyma of the same species. Most probably Doumet's 

 Hyperoodon de Corse is the animal of the skull described as Ziphius 

 cavirostris of Cuvier ; if it is the Ziphius de Corse of Gervais (Osteog. 

 Get.), which appears to be a female animal, it is interesting as show- 

 ing that the inner side of the intermaxiUaries of the female animals 

 are dilated and turned up. 



This whale has been confounded with Delphinus Desmarestii under 

 the name of Epiodon Desmarestii (see Suppl. Cat. Seals and Whales, 

 p. 98), figured by Gervais, which diff'ers from all other Petrorhynchi in 

 the inner margin of the intermaxillary bones not being nearly so 

 much elevated behind as in that genus, and not elevated but rounded 

 in front, and margining the linear vomer ; while in Petrorhynclius 

 the inner edge of the intermaxiUaries is dilated, forming a well- 

 marked concavity round the nostrils, and much elevated on the sides, 

 forming a thin hood over each side of the much-swollen vomer. 



