9 



FAMILY PHYSETERID.E (Cachalots). 

 3. Physeter macrocephalus, Linn. Cachalot or Sperm Whale. 

 The Museum possesses a skeleton, measuring 53 feet in length, 

 obtained from an individual which was stranded at Point Boling- 

 broke, Port Lincoln, November, 1881. This species is widely 

 distributed. 



4. KoGiA BREVICEPS, Blctinville. Short-headed Cachalot. 



A lower jaw of this very small species was recently obtained 

 by Mr. Adcock at Middleton, Encounter Bay, and by him pre- 

 sented to the Museum. The dental formula is y% -^ ; the teeth 

 being only in the lower jaw, as in the other cachalots ; the last 

 tooth on each side has its point directed backwards, and in its 

 whole length nearly rests on the ridge of the jaw — a peculiarity 

 which I find not mentioned in any description of the species. The 

 lower jaw is slight and fragile, and has scarcely any condyles ; the 

 broad ramus is nearly as thin as paper, with the sides much in flexed. 



This species is recorded from New South Wales and Madras ; 

 and now for the first time from South Australia. 

 FAMILY DELPHINID.E (Dolphins). 

 5. Grampus griseus. Grampus. 



A skeleton of a grampus, eleven feet long, was found on the 

 beach between Glenelg and Brighton, the skull of which is in the 

 Museum. It probably belongs to the above-named species, the 

 only one in the genus which is recorded from the North Sea to 

 Cape Town. 



6. Delphinus delphis, Linn. The Common Dolphin. 



This species is figured by Dr. Gray, "Zoology of the Voyage of 

 the Erebus and Terror," under the name of D. Forsteri ; but Pro- 

 fessor Elower, in the Brit. Mus. Cat., refers it to the Linnean 

 species, which, according to him, has a very wide range, embrac- 

 ing the shores of the North Atlantic, South Africa, Tasmania, 

 New Zealand, South Seas, and Antarctic Seas. It is common on 

 our coast. 



7. Steno rostratus. 



This species, as in the case of the Common Dolphin, is incor- 

 rectly called a j^orpoise. It is easily distinguished from the por- 

 poise by having a much larger and thicker head, and the snout 

 more tapering, and not so abruptly narrowed ; the tail and breast- 

 fins are also much broader, and the body narrowed behind. It is 

 not so neatly shaped as Delpltinus delphis, and the teeth are much 

 stronger and less numerous. 



The Brit. Mus. Cat. records it from Cape Seas, Admiralty 

 Islands, and India. Its presence in the Australian Seas has 

 hitherto not been noted, thoua^h it is not uncommon on our coast. 



