152 ME. W. II. FLOWEK OX THE SKELETON 



skeleton of this Dolphin, and has most liberally presented it to the Museum of the 

 Royal College of Surgeous. 



In a letter dated " British Consulate, Amoy, 23rd September, 1867," Mr. Swinhoe 

 says, " I have managed during my incumbency here to procure the skeleton of the 

 White Porpoise that rolls in the harbour of Amoy. The live animal is of a milky 

 white, with pinkish fins and black eyes. I desire to present this skeleton to the Royal 

 College of Surgeous, and beg that you will undertake a full description of it in the 

 Zoological Society's Transactions. The weather was very hot when the present speci- 

 men was acquired, it being midsummer ; and its capture having taken place at Quemoy 

 (a large island to seaward of Amoy) it was found impossible to bring it to me in a fresh 

 condition ; my hunter, therefore, had the bones partially cleaned and brought them to 

 me. I had them well dried before I packed them up. I regret that I was unable to 

 see the entire animal, as I would in such case have taken a drawing and a full descrip- 

 tion of it. I have striven in vain to get another specimen. The animals are of daily 

 occurrence in the harbour ; but the Chinese are not adepts at catching them. I have 

 often watched their gambols and have seen them wounded. When wounded they make 

 seaward, the wounded beast generally pursued by his fellows. They appear to occur 

 in this harbour through the greater part of the year. In the box you will find a few 

 bones of a second individual, which I procured from a fisherman here. These seem to 

 differ somewhat from the corresponding bones in the first specimen." 



In a subsequent letter, dated "Hongkong, 28th January, 1868," in reply to my 

 inquiries as to the geographical range of the animal, Mr. Swinhoe wrote, " I think I 

 have seen this white species in the Canton river and in the Forcliow river, but I have 

 no idea how far it extends north and south. In Formosa I have never seen Porpoises ; 

 but the coast there is too exposed and the rivers too barred, I should think, for regular 

 visits of Porpoises." 



The specimens received from Mr. Swinhoe consist of: — 1. An almost complete skele- 

 ton of a perfectly adult individual, all the epiphyses being united to the bodies of the 

 vertebras. The caudal and pectoral fins were sent entire and dried, thus allowing of a 

 description of their form, as well as preserving the bones of the manus and termination 

 of the vertebral column in a perfect condition. The missing portions of the skeleton 

 are the sternum, some of the sternal ribs, the body of the hyoid, and the pelvic bones. 

 The skeleton as now mounted measures, in a straight line, from tip of lower jaw to end 

 of last caudal vertebra, 7 feet 4-| inches ; but as the intervertebral substances which still 

 connect the bodies of the vertebras have contracted somewhat in drying, the animal 

 during life would probably have been upwards of eight feet in length. 



2. Portions of the skeleton of another and slightly smaller individual, viz. a fragment 

 of the cranium, the lower jaw with teeth complete, one lumbar vertebra, two ribs, and 

 two scapulas. 



