486 PROF. FLOWER ON THE DELPHINID.E. [NoV. 20, 



' Gazelle.' It was named by the late Dr. Pcter,s Belphinus {Steno) 

 perspiciUafHS (Monatsb. Beil. Acad. Wissenseh. 1876, p. 3G0). In 

 the external form there is nothing to distinguish it from one of the 

 ordinary Dolphins, such as D. clelphis, exce])t that the dorsal fin is 

 rather more obtuse and less falcate. The skull, as figured and 

 described by Peters, closely resembles in form and size the broadest 

 specimens of S. rostratvs ; and it is interesting to note, in connection 

 with Fischer's observations on the commoner species, that the speci- 

 men was a female. The teeth are .^^j^-i with a diameter at the 

 base of their crowns of 6 mm., and three occupy a space of 28 mm. 

 Dr. Peters does not say whether their surface is sculptured. The 

 vertebral formula is C. 7, D. 12, L. 15, C. 32, making atotalof 66. 

 The manus resembles that of Lagenorhynchus, the metacarpals and 

 phalanges being very broad, flattened, and with parallel borders. 

 The number of ossified elements of each digit (excluding the 

 metacarpals) appears to be I. 2, II. 8, III. 6, IV. 2, V. 1. I regret 

 that I have not yet had an opportunity of comparing the skull 

 directly with typical specimens of iS. rostratus and especially with 

 the very broad one previously mentioned in the Leiden Museum, 

 and also of ascertaining the condition of the surface of the teeth ; 

 but I strongly suspect that this individual, so fortunately preserved 

 for scientific examination, will afford us the much-required evidence 

 of the general characters of the animal which furnishes the skulls 

 so common in museums, as if it is not specifically identical with, it 

 is certainly very closely allied to Steno rostratus. 



SOTALTA. 



SotuJia, Gray, Cat. Seals and Whales Brit. Mus. 2nd edit. pp. 393 

 & 401 (1866). 



On account of the general resemblance in the form of the skull, I 

 provisionally associated with the section or genus called Steno by 

 Gray the Chinese White Dolphin {BelpMnus sinensis). The ex- 

 istence of this species was first indicated by Osbeck, who saw it in 

 the Canton River in 1751. Nothing more was heard of it until 

 1867, when it was rediscovered by the late Mr. R. Swinhoe, who sent 

 a perfect skeleton, prepared from an animal taken in the harbour at 

 Amoy, to the Museum of the College of Surgeons, which has been 

 fully described and figured in the ' Transactions ' of the Society, 

 vol. vii. pt. 2, Jan. 1870. The animal must have been about 8 feet 

 in length. The skull, though resembling that of Steno rostratus in 

 many points, including the length of the symphysis, is readily dis- 

 tinguished by the different form of the pterygoid bones (see fig. 7), 

 which are narrow and have the inner borders of their inferior surfaces 

 very little developed, leaving a wide space between them. The teeth 

 also are more numerous \^^.r^) and of smaller size. They are con- 

 siderably worn and truncated, so that it is difficult to ascertain the 

 natural condition of the enamelled surface, but there is no distinct 

 evidence of its having been striated. The vertebral formula is C. 7 , 



