1883.] PROF. FLOWER ON THE DELPHINID.E. 493 



those of any other in the collection, and it is still upon the stand 

 which bears the inscription "Brookes's Museum." This collection 

 was sold in 1828 ; and the next question was to endeavour to find a 

 record of the specimens from it wliich were purchased for the Leiden 

 Museum. After a considerable search it was ascertained by Dr. 

 Jeiitink, and communicated to me by letter after 1 had left Leiden, 

 that two Dolphins' skulls are mentioned in the original list as de- 

 rived from this source, which are described as " Delphinus globiceps 

 and PhocfBtia longirosti-is," from which Dr. Jentink concluded that 

 the type of D. acutus was never in the collection ; a conclusion, how- 

 ever, with whicli I was not satisfied. The previous indications of 

 two Dolphins' skulls passing from Brookes's collection to Leiden 

 were confirmed, and there was considerable probability in such a 

 list of an error of nomenclature, especially at a time when the 

 knowledge of the distinguishing characters of the crania of Cetacea 

 was so slight and confined to so few individuals. 



The next step was therefore to ascertain what had become of the 

 skull called D. globiceps, the other one being satisfactorily accounted 

 for ; so I wrote to Dr. Jentink on this point, and received the follow- 

 ing answer, dated Leiden, 1-Jth Aug. 1883:— " 0( Belp/dnus globi- 

 ceps we only possess a single skull labelled 'Cote de Holland,' four 

 skeletons from ' Zeelande ' and ' Japon,' one stuffed from ' Zeelande,' 

 and two foetuses from ' lies Faer ;' and I believe that globiceps 

 can hardly be confounded with any other species. Moreover we have 

 no other skull which shows signs that it formerly belonged to 

 Brookes's collection, only Delphinus longirostris as you know. The 

 skull of D. globiceps bought from Brookes thus must have been 

 lost. It is not in our collection. But where can the type of Gray's 

 acutus be hidden ?" 



Putting all the circumstances together, my inference is that the 

 type of Gray's acutus is the skull incorrectly described in the sale 

 list as D. globiceps (the inaccuracy of that list in such matters is 

 shown by the name Pliocana longirostris for a specimen previously 

 and properly described by Gray as Delphinus longirostris), which, 

 never having been given its proper name, was lost sight of even by 

 Schlegel. If it first bore the name of D. globiceps, as it more re- 

 cently did that of D. tursio, both of which it is perfectly unlike, it 

 is scarcely surprising tliat its identity has disappeared. It is very 

 unfortunate that this should be so, as a doubt may always be raised 

 upon the subject ; but the evidence to my mind is almost irresistible 

 that the type of Gray's D. acutus still exists in the skull of unre- 

 corded origin in the Leiden Museum, and also that this skull is 

 specifically identical with the animals afterwards described as D. 

 eschrichtii by Schlegel and D. Jeucopleurus by Rasch. 



In this species the teeth are usually 34 to 3.5 on each side of 

 each jaw. The total number of vertebrae varies in different indivi- 

 duals between 79 and 82, either 80 or 81 being the most common. 

 The number of ribs appears to be always 15 pairs. There is often 

 a difficulty in determining between the lumbar and the caudal 

 region, owing to the irregular development of the anterior chevroa 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1883 No. XXXIII. d3 



