142 DR. J. MURIE ON THE WHITE-BEAKED BOTTLENOSE. 



Van Beneden *, in his " Recherches sur la Faune Littorale de 

 Belgique," records the capture of two females, and describes their 

 appearance, skeleton, intestinal canal, and organs of generation, 

 figuring the same. 



Matthias Claudius f published a memoir on Lagenorhynchus not 

 long after, referring, I believe, to this and allied species ; but I 

 have not been able to get a sight of this paper. 



Lilljeborg %, in treating synoptically of the Scandinavian Ce- 

 tacea, gives notes on several skeletons in the Swedish and Danish 

 Museums. 



The specimen, a full-grown <5 , forming the subject of the pre- 

 sent communication was captured on the south coast of England 

 a few years ago and purchased by Mr. Grerrard for the British 

 Museum. It was identified by that gentleman and myself as the 

 L. albirostris of Dr. Gray. The skeleton is in the National Col- 

 lection. The generative organs were saved by me, and are put 

 up as a preparation among the physiological series in the College 

 of Surgeons' Museum. Most of the viscera had been removed 

 prior to receipt of the body. 



1. Dentition. — In this adult male the numbers were — 



24-23 (+2 denticles) . ^^94. 



The four or five anterior teeth, both above and below, are small, 

 and they increase in size to about the eighteenth. Between the 

 eighteenth and twentieth the maximum of size is attained, those 

 behind diminishing. 



The greatest height of the teeth above the gums is 0*3 inch, 

 the intervals between the teeth being about 0*2 inch. The teeth 

 in the upper jaw are set nearly erect, with, however, a slight 

 obliquity outwards ; but the hindmost two or three incline 

 somewhat backwards. The mandibular teeth have much the 

 same direction. 



The teeth of the upper jaw have somewhat of a lateral com- 

 pression : their posterior surface is round, but their anterior one 

 bevelled almost to a knife-like edge. The lower series of teeth 

 fit into the upper set in such a way that the hind surfaces of the 

 former are grooved and rub against the front surfaces of the 

 latter. When the teeth are in opposition, there is an interval of 



* Mem. de l'Acad. E. Bruxelles, 1861, t. xxxii. pp. 1 to 38, pis. 1, 2. 



f Dissert, de Lagenorhynchis. Killiae, 1853. 



t Kay Soc. 1866, from Upsala Univ. Arsskrift, 1861-62. 



