Cajpture of Delphiuus delphis in the Firth of Forth. 347 



Teeth small, short, pointed, f^ 1^=174. 



Colottr. — The skin was black on the rostrum, the top of 

 head, the back, both surfaces of the tail and dorsal fin. It 

 was dark yellowish grey on both surfaces of the flipper. 

 High up on the side of the body it was grey, with an under- 

 tint of fawn colour, then a lighter band about an inch wide 

 commenced at the angle of the mouth, and extended horizon- 

 tally backwards below the eye, but above the flipper, and 

 widened out somewhat behind, when it ended on the side of 

 the body in a broad, greyish white patch, a little in front of 

 the tail. The side of the lower jaw had a yellowish grey 

 tint similar to that of the side of the body, and this tint 

 extended backwards below the lighter band just described 

 as far as the broad, greyish white patch. The belly was 

 white, and this tint was continued forwards to the under 

 surface of the lower jaw, and backwards to behind the anus. 

 The specimen showed that variety of tint and shading which 

 has been described and figured by Professor Flower in his 

 description of a common dolphin caught off the coast of 

 Cornwall.^ 



The animal was distinguished by the elegance of its shape, 

 which was in a great measure due to the mode in which it 

 tapered both forwards to the beak and backwards to the tail. 

 The lower jaw projected very slightly beyond the upper. 

 The blowhole was single and crescentic, concave forwards, 

 whilst its valve was convex backwards. The forehead 

 descended gently to the beak, from which it was difleren- 

 tiated by a distinct V-shaped groove, the apex of which was 

 forward at the base of the front of the forehead. The beak 

 proper was attenuated; its length from the apex of the 

 V-shaped groove to the tip was 4J inches. The skin of the 

 beak was smooth when the animal was recently out of the 

 water, but subsequently it became wrinkled. The anterior 

 border of the dorsal fin was 2 feet 5 inches from the tip of 

 the beak when measured along the curve of the back ; the 

 dorsal fin was falcate. The tail had a mesial notch f inch 

 deep. The vulva was immediately in front of the anus, and 



1 Trans. Zool. Soc, London, vol. xi., part i., 1880. 



