86 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 'J2 



type, very near the most usual Delphinid-type, differing from the 

 Plafanisfidcc especially in the roofed over temporal fossa. Its more 

 exact position among the Delphinids cannot yet be determined. 



Cyrtodclpliis is only a new name for Schisodclphis given by Abel 

 in 1899 (/. c.) to include a series of species which previously were 

 most often referred to Schiaodclphis, among them the type of the 

 genus, S. stdcatus Gervais. Eastman (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 

 51, 1907, pp. 83-84) has already protested against this superfluous 

 new name as well as against the following. 



Acrodclphis is likewise essentially a mere new name, a synonym of 

 Champsodelphis. It was given by Abel in 1899 (/. c). At first 

 Acrodclphis was to include the type of Champsodelphis, Ch. macro- 

 genius (Laurillard) Gervais or macrognathiis Brandt. Later, in 1905, 

 Abel excluded the type of Champsodelphis from the genus, with 

 doubtful right ; but most of the species which he now includes in 

 Acrodclphis were earlier called Champsodelphis. 



PalcBophoccena was based by Abel (1905, Jahrb. k. k. geol. Reich- 

 sanst., vol. 55, /. c.) on an imperfect piece of a braincase and a few 

 fragments of the rest of the skeleton from a Tertiary deposit on the 

 coast of Crimea. Abel considers it proved that this is a near relative 

 of Phocccna. Possibly it will sometime turn out that he is right ; but 

 for the present there is no means of deciding the question about 

 nearest relationship. The known piece of skull shows only such 

 general features that nothing exact can be said except that it comes 

 from a Delphinid. Only in the form of the teeth have Phocccna and 

 its relative Neomeris a peculiarity which distinguishes them from 

 other quite ordinarily formed Delphinids ; but the teeth in Palaopho- 

 ccena are not known. 



Protophocccna is also established by Abel (Odontocetes du Bol- 

 derien, 1905, pp. 139-141, with illustrations), on the anterior, very 

 imperfect part of a skull, without teeth, from the Tertiary deposits 

 at Antwerp. Abel refers it to the " Phocccnince." There is actually 

 nothing whatever, apart from the small size, that could lead one to 

 think of Phocccna; on the contrary, the strong cushion-shaped swell- 

 ing and the widening out which the intermaxillary shows in front of 

 the nasal aperture suggests rather Lagenorhynchus or " Grampus." 

 For the present the question about nearest relationship cannot be 

 settled. 



Pithanodelphis is established by Abel (Odontocetes du Bolderien, 

 1905^ PP- 142-145, v^ith illustrations) on the basis of Phoccenopsis 

 cornutus du Bus from Tertiary strata at Antwerp. Abel refers it to 



