A RF.VIEW OF THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF THE 



CETACEA 



By HERLUF WINGE 



[Translated by Ge:rrit S. Miller, Jr.] 



In translating Doctor Winge's " Udsigt over Hvalernes indbyrdes 

 Slaegtskab " (Vidensk. Medd. fra Dansk naturh. Foren., vol. 70, pp. 59-142, 

 1918) my aim has been to give the author's ideas as clearly and exactly as 

 possible rather than to make smooth English sentences. I have been much 

 aided by the kindness of Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, who has compared the 

 entire MS with the original, making himself responsible in particular for 

 the rendering of the adverbs ret, sikkert, vel, and vist, whose idiomatic 

 shades of meaning present many difficulties to one whose acquaintance with 

 Danish is limited to the printed language. Doctor V/inge has also examined 

 the translation, expressed his approval of it, and made some useful suggestions 

 for its improvement. I have added an index, a few bibliographical refer- 

 ences, and in some instances the generic names which are correct according 

 to the International Code of Nomenclature. Brackets are used to distinguish 

 all additions to the original text. — G. S. M., Jr. 



The Cetacea ' originated ^ from the Hyccnodontidcc, the most primi- 

 tive family of the Carnivora, by way of the most typically carnivorous 

 members of the group such as Pterodon and Hycsnodon. The oldest 

 known whales have such a great likeness to Hyccnodon and its nearest 

 relatives that there can be no doubt about the relationship. Aquatic 

 habits have given the cetaceans their special peculiarities and have 

 caused their differentiation from the Hyaenodonts. 



As an inheritance from the highest Hyaenodonts, and as an indica- 

 tion of relationship with exactly these animals, the most primitive 

 whales retained a series of special peculiarities which the Hysenodonts 

 had developed in the course of their differentiation from the insectiv- 

 orous stage. They still had about the same dentition as the Hyaeno- 

 donts. All the teeth were fitted for flesh eating; the incisors and 

 canines were strong and hooked, the anterior cheekteeth strong, 

 elongated, compressed, smooth-edged; the molariform cheekteeth, 

 especially those of the upper jaw, had a peculiar form and all of 

 them were nearly alike. In the upper molars the 4th and Sth cusps 

 [paracone and metacone] were coalesced to form a trenchant longi- 

 tudinal ridge, the ist and 2d cusps [parastyle and mesostyle] were 

 reduced, the 3d cusp [metastyle] was a compressed ridge, and the 



^ Notes are at end of paper, pages 47-93- 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 72, No. 8 



