126 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



succeeded in throwing much light upon their habits and economy, 

 of which absohitely nothing was previously known, and has 

 settled for ever a disputed point which has long been a puzzle 

 to naturalists. Hitherto the adult male of this species had never 

 been described in the flesh ; their properly authenticated and sexed 

 skulls were therefore unknown. A form of skull has from time to 

 time been met with, which by some was regarded as that of the 

 adult male Hiipcmndnn mstratum, but Dr. .T. E. Gray thought 

 otherwise, and accordingly described it as belonging to a new 

 species which he named H. lafifrons ; subsequently he even 

 established for it a new genus, which he styled Laficnocetus. The 

 skull which was known to us as that of the adult female and 

 young male of H. rostratiim (H. hutzkopf oi Gray) was remarkable 

 for the great development of the maxillary bones, which form 

 a crest on each side nearly as high as the occipital portion of 

 the skull ; but in the form known as H. latifrons these maxillary 

 crests were vastly more developed, so as to exceed in height the 

 hinder portion of the skull, and instead of being thin and wide 

 apart, as in H. rostratnm, were very much thickened and reflexed 

 in front so as to present nearly a flat surface, with a very narrow 

 space between them. 



These two extremes, viewed by themselves, might well have 

 been ascribed to two very distinct animals, but Capt. Gray 

 brought home with him a series of skulls illustrating the gradual 

 development of these remarkable crests, and clearly showing that 

 the form of skull ascribed by Dr. Gra}' to Lagenocetus latifrons 

 was simply that of the adult male of Hyperoodon rostratum. 



With photographs of these skulls, Capt. Gray also very kindly 

 sent me outlines of the animals to which they belonged, and so 

 interesting are they that the whole series has been engraved 

 to illustrate a communication since made by Capt. Gray to the 

 Zoological Society of London.* For valuable notes upon the 

 habits and forms of these most interesting creatures T must 

 refer to that communication. 



I have elsewhere had the pleasure of recording indubitable 

 evidence of the occurrence of the Atlantic Right Whale in British 



* See Proc. Zool. Soc. 18fJ2, pp. 726—731 ami Trans. Norf. autl Norw. 

 Nat. Soc. vol. iii. pp. 476 — 481. [The above notes were written in December, 

 1882, and read before the Glasgow Natural History Society.] 



