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CETACEANS. 
Lesser Sperm-Whale. 
Genus Cogia. 
The lesser sperm-whale (Cogia breviceps ) is a little-known species, differing 
widely both in size and form -from the sperm-whale; and more resembling a 
porpoise in both these respects. It agrees, however, with the sperm-whale in having 
no functional teeth in the upper jaw and a full series in the lower. The rudimentary 
upper teeth are reduced to a single pair, or may be wanting; and there are only from 
nine to twelve pairs of teeth in the lower jaw. These teeth, which are rather long 
and slender, with curved 
summits, differ from 
those of the sperm- 
whale in having a coat¬ 
ing of enamel; and the 
two branches of the 
lower jaw are united for 
less than half their 
length. The upper sur¬ 
face of the hinder part 
of the skull is hollowed, 
with a thick elevated 
rim behind and at the 
base; and the rostral 
portion of the skull is 
shorter and more 
rapidly tapering than in 
the larger species. This whale attains a length of about 10 feet; and, as already 
said, is not unlike a porpoise in general appearance. The head is about one-sixth 
the total length, and has a bluntly-pointed muzzle, with the small mouth opening 
on the under surface, far behind the extremity. The back carries a large fin. The 
colour of this species is glistening black above, becoming paler beneath. 
The lesser sperm-whale is known only from a comparatively small number of 
individuals obtained from such widely-separated areas as the Indian and Australian 
seas, the Cape of Good Hope, and the North Pacific; and we may accordingly 
assume that it has probably an almost cosmopolitan distribution. Nothing has at 
present been ascertained in regard to its habits. 
The Bottlenose-Whale. 
Genus Hyperoddon. 
The bottlenose-whale (Hyperoddon rostratus), which is one of the most 
common Cetaceans stranded on the British shores, is the first representative 
of a group of four allied genera distinguished from the sperm-whales by the 
functional teeth being reduced to a single pair, or in one case two pairs; these 
THE WATER-WORN SKULL, WITHOUT THE LOWER JAW, OF A WHALE 
ALLIED TO THE BOTTLENOSE. 
(From Sir W. H. Flower, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1882.) 
