BRITISH MAMMALS 
Genus Ziphius. 
CUVIER'S WHALE. 
Zipkius cavirostris. 
Plate 46. 
This rare beaked Whale, the only known species of the genus Ziphius, 
is distinguished by the single pair of pointed teeth inclining forwards at 
the extreme end of the lower jaw. In the skeleton, only the first three 
vertebra: of the neck are joined, the others being free. Until recently 
very little was known of the appearance and colour of Cuvier's Whale. 
It was first described by the scientist whose name it bears from a skull 
obtained on the coast of Southern France, and a few more examples have 
been obtained at long intervals in the Mediterranean and one in Sweden. 
The first British specimen was captured off" Hamna Voe, Shetland, 
in 1870, whose skull on being sent to Edinburgh was identified by Sir 
William Turner. 
On July 1 8th, 191 5, a good example of a male Cuvier's Whale came 
ashore at Fethard, Co. Wexford, Ireland, and, thanks to a recent Govern- 
ment regulation whereby any whale stranded on our coasts is immediately 
reported by the coastguard to the authorities at the British Museum of 
Natural History, an exact model of the specimen was able to be made 
on the spot, and the colours and measurements noted by Mr. Bishop. 
This whale measured 18 feet z\ inches in total length. In colour 
the area from the chin to the base of dorsal fin was greenish white, the 
rest of the body slaty black. As usual in whales whose food consists 
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