178 ESCHRICHT ON THE 



measurements of their crania. But there is another question that still deserves to be particularly 

 examined, namely, whether several species of this genus or family of Cetaceans, so peculiar 

 in its manner of living, may not also be found in the northern seas. It has already been 

 stated that not only the Norwegian fisherman distinguish the high-finned and low-finned 

 Orcas by the names of " Stour-Vang," and " Lille-Vang," but that also the zoologists 

 before Cuvier's time have very generally supposed them to be two different species. After 

 Cuviei-'s time this difference between the high-finned and low-finned killers had not been parti- 

 cularly attended to until it was again pointed out by Professor Nilsson, with a question which 

 seemed to imply that it might be a character of sex. But lately, Professor Lilljeborg of Upsala,^ 

 bas again supported the earlier supposition and, what is more important, by comparing skeletons 

 of both species, he believes he has found several characters by which it would seem to be pretty 

 easy to distinguish the two species in osteological museums. 



Professor Lilljeborg has, however, only had an opportunity of examining one skeleton of a 

 high-finned specimen, namely. Professor Nilsson's at Lund ; of the low-finned ones, on the con- 

 trary, five, namely, three in the University Museum under my superintendence, and two in the 

 Musemn of Bergen. With the outward forms and colours belonging to the former skeleton, 

 he became acquainted by the coloured figures preserved at Lund, and executed by Pastor 

 Lundberg, copies of which were also forwarded to me through the kindness of Professor 

 Wahlgren. The white spot on the neck of this individual is set down, though with some 

 hesitation, as a special character of the high-finned species, for which he retains Lacépéde's 

 name of Delphimis gladiator. Professor Lilljeborg has been obliged to make use of Schlegel's 

 description in order to determine the outward appearance of the low-finned species. He has, 

 however, also expressed some doubts as to the invariable existence of the purple stripe along 

 the base of the dorsal fin, and it has been pointed out above that this doubt has been as fully 

 confirmed by the figure given by Mr. Thomsen of the thirteen feet long specimen from the 

 eastern coast of Jutland (1855), as his doubts about the invariable existence of the white 

 spot on the necks of the high-finned specimens has proved to be well founded by my exami- 

 nation of Mr. Benzon's specimen. We must therefore suppose, as has already been said 

 above, that we can hardly succeed at present in deriving characters for the two supposed species 

 from the colours of the skin. The different height of the dorsal fin wiU, however, compensate 

 for all other characters in the outward appearance of the animals. It is more important to 

 derive certain characters from the skeletons. This has been the principal object of my much 

 respected friend, and I shall endeavour to assist him in this with ah the means at my disposal. 



I have thought it expedient to arrange Professor LiUjeborg's characters of the two species 

 of Orca, the types of which are Professor Nilsson's specimen on the one hand, and the specimens 

 from Bergen on the other, in a tabular form, and in the following manner : 



^ ' Ofversigt af Skandinaviens Hvaldjur/ Upsala, 1862, 8vo, pp. 15 — 23. 



