52 Dr. H. Burmeister on Globiocephalus Gi-ayi. 



VII. — On Globiocephalus Grayi, 7iov. sjmc. 

 By Dr. Hekmann Burmeister. 



[Plate II. figs. 2 & 3.] 



Two montlis ago the public museum of Buenos Ayres received 

 the skull of a large Dolphin of the subgenus Glohiocephalus, 

 which seems to belong to an unknown species inhabiting the 

 southern parts of the Atlantic Ocean, as the skull was found 

 on the shore of the State of Buenos Ayres. I venture to 

 describe this new species under the name of my friend Dr. J. 

 E. Gray, who has recently contributed so greatly, by his valu- 

 able investigations, to the increase of our knowledge of the 

 Cetacea. 



Compared with the skull of Globiocephalus svineval s. 

 melasy as shown in the figures of this species given by Cuvier 

 (Ossem. Foss. tome i. pi. xxi. fig. 11) and Gray (Catal. 

 p. 316), this skull is somewhat larger in the anterior part of 

 the nose, and not so large in the posterior part between the 

 orbital arch. To show this difference, I here give the mea- 

 surements of the new species corresponding with those of the 

 European species given by Dr. Gray (/. c.) : — 



in. lin. 



Entire length of the skull 25 



Length of the nasal part 13 



Length of the teeth-series 10 



Length of under jaw 21 



Width at notch 12 



Width at orbit 14 6 



Width of intermaxiUaries 6 



Width of middle of nose 8 6 



Height of occiput 10 



As the general form of the exterior of the skull is sufficiently 

 shown by the accompanying figure (PL II. fig. 2), I will 

 describe only the differences of its constituent bones. The 

 greatest difference is shown in the form of the tip of the nose, 

 which is much broader and more rounded in Globiocephalus 

 Grayi than in G. svineval. This difference is combined with 

 a totally different form of the intermaxillary bones, these being 

 short, rounded at the anterior extremity, and then nearly 

 parallel, with the outer margins not diverging posteriorly as 

 in the European species. In the middle these bones, in my 

 new species, are narrower and more excavated at the margin ; 

 and at their hinder parts they are rather more curved out- 

 wards. The part of the vomer which is visible between the 

 intermaxiUaries seems to be somewhat broader, and the small 

 portion of the maxillaries, seen from above at the sides of the 



