ICHTHYOLOGY. 



THE DOLPHIN. 



Delphinus of Pliny. Porcus Marinas of Sibbald. 



Character — Body oblong, round, snout narrow and pro- 

 tuberant. 



THE Dolphin bears a considerable resemblance in 

 its external form to the Porpoise, but its nose is more 

 elongated and acute, the shape of the body also is more 

 slender throughout, it also grows to a much larger size, 

 and it sometimes reaches to eight or ten feet in length. 

 The colour when alive is said to be of a bright green, 

 spotted with white, which changes much like the Macka- 

 rel, when it expires; it preys on various kinds of fish 

 and is said to be sometimes seen attacking and wounding 

 even the larger kinds of Whales. The mouth of the Dol- 

 phin is amply furnished in each jaw with a double row 

 of teeth, and it may on the whole be considered as closely 

 allied to the Shark-species. It is said to swim in a crooked 

 posture, something in the way described by the ancients 

 in their works of sculpture. 



The Dolphin which is herewith delineated, is from 

 the Museum of Mr. Bullock, and is about three feet in 

 length; the nose of this fish is round and sharply pro- 

 jecting forwards, ending in" a high ridge, continued into 

 a long fin upon the back, the belly-fin is also very long 

 and continuous, the colour of the back is a bright green, 

 with white spots. Along each side of the body there 

 runs a line of a dark green colour, which forms a pleasing 

 arnaraent in the appearance of the fish, and the under jaw 



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