808 MR. H. LEE ON UISSO's GUAMPUS. [DcC. 4, 



The following papers were read : — 



1. On the Capture of a Specimen of Risso's Grampus at 

 Sidlesham, near Chichester. By Henry Lee^ F.L.S., 

 F.Z.S., &c. 



[Received November 20, 1877.] 



In the publications of the Zoological Society are to be found so 

 many valuable notices of the occurrence on the coasts of Great 

 Britain of some of the rarer Whales that I feel I ought, as one of its 

 Fellows, to have communicated to the Society before now the capture 

 of a specimen of Risso's Grampus more than two years ago not far 

 from Chichester. 



On the 2()th of July, 1875, a "large porpoise" was seen to be 

 embayed in shallow water at Sidlesham, near Chichester ; and a party 

 of men succeeded in cutting off its retreat seaward, and driving it 

 in shore. As the tide receded, it was left swimming in a deep pool ; 

 and its captors, after fastening a line with cork floats to its tail to 

 mark its "whereabouts," telegraphed to Brighton information of its 

 arrival. On the following morning an official from the Aquarium 

 took charge of it, and it was conveyed alive to one of the large tanks 

 there. Unfortunately, however, it only survived for twenty-four hours. 



Being in a different part of the country at the time, I had not the 

 pleasure of seeing it alive ; and when I was able to examine it it was 

 in the hands of Mr. Brasenor, the taxidermist I was greatly pleased, 

 however, to find that this " bull-head porpoise," as the local fisher- 

 men called it, was a Grampus of a species extremely rare in Britain — 

 namely. Grampus griaeus of Cuvier (which Piofessor Flower and 

 others regard as identical with Risso's Grampus) and G. cuvieri of 

 Dr. Gray. Only three specimens are known to have been previously 

 taken on the English, and eight on the French coasts. In the 

 stomach were many horny beaks of the common Squid {Loii^o 

 vulgaris) and twelve small stones. 



The distinctive characters and measurements of this animal were 

 as follows : — 



VertebrcE. — Cervical 7, dorsal 1 2, lumbar and caudal 49 ; total 68. 



Bibs.—\2. 



Teeth. — None in the upper jaw ; in the lower jaw four on each 

 side, on the anterior part of the ramus, separate, conical, acute, curved 

 inward (especially towards the crown). Dental formula ^. 



Dimensions. 



ft. in. 



Total length 8 



Girth, in front of dorsal fin 3 8 



From upper lip to anterior edge of dorsal fin (fol- 

 lowing curve) 3 7 



From upper lip to blowhole (following curve) . . I 4 

 From upper lip to junction of anterior edge of pec- 

 toral fin with body 1 / 



