136 
NEW-YORK FAUNA. 
GENUS DELPHINUS. Linneus. 
Head more or less rounded, and separated from the elongated beak by a distinct furrow. 
Teeth numerous. Dorsal eminence as in the preceding. 
THE SEA PORPOISE. 
Delphinus delphis. 
PLATE XXXI. FIG. 1. 
Delphinus delphis. Linneus, 12 Ed. p. 108. 
D. delphis. Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 514. 
The True Dolphin. Godman, Am. Nat. Hist. Vol. 3, p. 58. 
Characteristics. Teeth forty to forty-eight on each side, above and below, slender, subequal, 
slightly bent, pointed. Length 6-8 feet. 
Description. Body cylindrical, tapering, with a smooth, hard coriaceous skin. Eyes small, 
low down, and near the angle of the mouth. Spiracle single, on the summit of the head, above 
the eyes. Beak the length of the head. Teeth subequal, equidistant, interlocking with each 
other, somewhat larger towards the posterior part of the jaw. Swimming paws placed low, 
longer than broad, half way between the end of the beak and the dorsal eminence, subfalcate. 
Dorsal eminence triangular, curved backward, ten inches high, and nearly the same at base. 
Tail lunate, with two long pointed lobes. 
Color. Dark greenish black above; white beneath, and greyish on the sides. 
Length 6-8 feet. 
The name of Dolphin, which is applied to this animal, is also given by sailors to a species 
of fish. This is the true Dolphin of the ancients, concerning whose docility and fondness for 
music such marvellous stories have reached us. I am indebted to Mr. Audubon for an oppor¬ 
tunity of presenting the accompanying figure, reduced from a sketch made by him of an 
individual six feet long. 
The Sea Porpoise is generally seen in large herds. Upon one occasion, I saw during a 
storm a troop of these animals. They swam abreast of each other, and the line extended 
nearly a mile. Their movements, as they sprang over a wave, were very beautiful. They are 
exceedingly ravenous, living upon all the gregarious tribes of fishes. They rarely approach 
soundings, unless in pursuit of their prey. 
{EXTRALIMITAL) 
D. calvertensis, Harlan. (Fossil.) From the Maryland tertiary. (See Bulletin Nat. Instit. Washington. 
No. 2.) 
