28 



these points. And I trust tins uncertainty will be borne 

 in mind wben I come to describe the pelvis of tbe Botany- 

 sperm whale, which I have reasons for believing to have been 

 a female. 



In our Sydney whale, the sternal parts of its ribs are all 

 cartilaginous, whereas in the true dolphins they are generally 

 ossified. As I made my drawings of this singular sternum on the 

 spot before the animal was divided, I have no doubt of tKe 

 accuracy of the manner in which I have placed these bones in the 

 skeleton ; which, besides, is proved by the location of the bones 

 in the Botany Bay sternum. Their dimensions are as follow in 

 the Sydney s])ecimen : — 



Length of sternum 



Greatest breadth of ditto 



Length of anterior bones 



Greatest breadth of each of ditto 



Least breadth of eacli of ditto 



Length of porterior bones 



Greatest breadth of each of ditto 

 Breadth of each of ditto at point 



OF THE FINS, OR FOREPAWS. 



I need scarcely state to zoologists that cetaceous animals have 

 no clavicles. The scapula of the sperm whale forms a flat sub- 

 triangular piece, having the blunt apex downwards and concave, 

 while the base of this triangle is convex. The anterior margin 

 goes off into a keel, offering at its external termination a flat 



