422 



A RARE BEAKED WHALE. 



the imperfect skull from New Zealand described and figured by Sir 

 William Flower, in the ' Transactions of the Zoological Society,' 

 vol. X, p. 421, pi. Ixxii. fig. 3, 1878, as a new species, under the 

 name of Mesoplodon haasti. That so-called species has, however, 

 been identified by Dr. H. 0. Forbes, in the Society's ' Proc;'edings ' 

 for 1893, p. 218, with the New Zealand species previously named 

 M. grayi, of which it represents a very old individual, the func- 

 tionless small upper teeth found in younger specimens having been 

 lost. Assuming this identification to be correct, which I think is 

 probably the case, the Port Elizabeth wliale would appear to be 

 also a fully adult specimen of Mesoplodon grayi, and therefore of 

 great interest as showing the extension of the range of the species 

 to South Africa. 



Text-fie. 139. 



Lateral view of skull of Mesoplodon (Dioplodon) grayi 



But this is not all, for while, as already mentioned, the Port 

 Elizabeth Beaked Whale has the hind margin of the tail-fin convex, 

 in Sowerby's Beaked Whale it is deeply emarginate, as is well shown 

 in De Blainville's figure reproduced on page 255 of the ' Study of 

 Mammals.' A feature similar to that found in the tail of the 

 Port Elizabeth specimen is stated to occur in a Beaked Whale 

 from Annisquam, Massachusetts, which Dr. F. W. True (Bull. U.S. 

 National Museum, no. 73, p. 10, 1910) refers to M. densirostris, a 

 near relative of M. grayi (with which M. australis is identical) ; 

 and it therefore seems that these two species form, at least, a 

 distinct sub-generic group, for which the name Dioplodon is 

 available, 



I wiAj add that I am indebted to my friend Mr. G. A. 

 Boulenger for handing me the original communication from 

 Mr. FitzSimons. 



