1914] Townsend: The Porpoise in Captivity. 293 



All porpoises and dolphins belong to the large family Del- 

 phinidae, of the order of whales, and there are about fifty 

 different species. The names porpoise and dolphin are to some 

 extent interchangeable; the former is, however, usually applied 

 to the short-jawed kinds. The name "bottle-nose" is inapt, as 

 the nostrils of all such animals are on top of the head and 

 usually placed as far back as the eyes. The name dolphin is also 

 applied to a fish {Coryphaena) celebrated for its changing 

 colors. 



Porpoises and dolphins are found in all seas, and there are 

 strictly fresh-water species inhabiting the Amazon, Ganges and 

 other rivers. The porpoise of the muddy Ganges is a small- 

 eyed species that is practically blind, and lives upon Crustacea 

 gathered at the bottom of the river. The porpoise-dolphin fam- 

 ily includes the little white whale or beluga of the Arctic Seas, 

 two living specimens of which were once exhibited at the New 

 York Aquarium for a month or more. The Aquarium has also 

 had two other porpoises, Delphinus and Legenorhynchus, both of 

 which were cast ashore too badly injured to live more than a 

 few weeks. 



The food of marine porpoises is chiefly fish and squid, for 

 the capture of which their numerous small teeth are well fitted. 

 At Hatteras they are known to feed largely on squeteague or 

 weakfish. The fact that sand has been found in the stomachs 

 of porpoises, indicates that they sometimes feed at the bottom. 

 They are air-breathing, warm-blooded mammals, bearing a 

 single young, which is nourished on milk. They are really small 

 toothed whales, living entirely in the water and are altogether 

 helpless on land. Two previous attempts were made to bring 

 porpoises from Hatteras to the Aquarium. Instructions for 

 their transportation were prepared in detail, but the plans were 

 not carried out by those to whom the shipments were entrusted. 

 In the first instance all the animals, eight in number, died en 

 route, as they were unfortunately carried without water in the 

 shipping tanks, and could not survive the journey without the 

 cooling and supporting medium of water. The next attempt, 

 in April, 1913 when the same blunder was made, gave only 

 slightly better results. Although covered with wet burlap, four 

 of the six porpoises shipped died between Hatteras and Norfolk, 



