280 PROF. W. B. BENHAM Olf THE L^pr. 2, 



With regard to colour : — The dorsal surface of the hody was 

 hlack, the under surface of the iluke was also black ; the belly- 

 dirty yellowish-white, but much discoloured ; but how far the dark 

 colour extended down the sides, and other details, I was unable to 

 ascertain with suflicient accuracy to put on record. 



The only detailed accounts of the external features of Cogia to 

 which I have access are those by Owen (1865) and by Von 

 Haast (1873). 



Owen describes two specimens from Indian seas under the 

 name of Eupliysetes simus ; the male measured 6 ft. 8 inches, and 

 the female 6 feet only. 



Von Haast's account of " Eujy/n/sefes potuii " (according to 

 Flower, these names are synonyms of Cogia hreviceps) deals with 

 a specimen thrown up on the New Zealand coast which measured 

 7 ft. 2 inches, its tail 16| inches, the pectoral fin 9 inches by 

 3| inches. 



" The colour black, belly greyish white." 



These specimens, then, are considerably smaller than my Cogia. 



I hope to give, in a later contribution, some account of its 

 viscera, but at present will confine my remarks to the larynx. 



I. The Lajrynx of Baljenoftesa rostbata. 



The only detailed account of this organ in the Eorqual that I 

 have been able to consult is that by Drs. Carte and Macalister 

 (1867), who in their very careful and interesting memoir on the 

 anatomy of the Eorqual. give a fairly good desci'iption of the 

 external features, and of the muscles, both extrinsic and intrinsic ; 

 but the figures illustrating this account are small and poor, and no 

 sufficient details are given as to the shape of the cartilages. In 

 some respects I have to differ from these authors. 



I have not been able to consult the original memoir of Dubois 

 (1886), and only know the general conclusions to which he arrives 

 from the abstract in the Zool. Jahresbericht, and this publication 

 makes no reference to any account of the larynx in the abstracts 

 of Delage's memoir (1885). It is likely, therefore, that I am 

 repeating, to some degree, work that has already been carried out ; 

 but my apology lies in the isolation in which scientific men have 

 to work in New Zealand. 



It will be seen that in general, the larynx of Balcenoptera agrees 

 with that of Balcena, but in several details it differs therefrom. 



The aclitus laryngis is, in form, an isosceles triangle, with the 

 apex directed anteriorly upwards ; the sides are formed by 

 the aryteno-epiglottid folds {A.ep.f.), which diverge posteriorly and 

 embrace the arytenoid bodies, while they converge anteriorly and 

 meet at the apex of the epiglottis. (Plate XXVIII. fig. 22.) 



The epiglottis is a tongue-shaped or conical body arising from 

 the floor of the pharynx and directed upwards and forwards. The 

 tip of the epiglottis is, as the drawings show, a rounded point, and 



