u
The up p er surface and outside of limbs pale saudy, inter-
sjiersed on the head and over the back witli numerous fine
black hairs, longer on the lower p a rt of th e back and rump-
Ears naked, dark brown. Sides of muzzle, all the under-
surface, and th e inner surface of th e limbs wliite. Tail
clothed with short dark brown hairs a t th e base, with long
black hairs tipped with white on th e apical half of its
length.
H. Mitchelli, Gould, Mamin. Austr. iii.,^7. 9.
H. Gouldii, Gmdd, P.Z.S., 1851, 127.
Inhab. W, and S. Australia.
Mr, Gould described*an imperfect skin and skeleton, from
P o rt Essington, under the name of Mus Mrsutus.
iiiliab. W, Australia. Called “ K o r tu n g ” and “ Goota-
Smaller than H. albipes, b u t lias a much longer ta il and
longer hind legs.
H a p a l o t is R ic h a r d s o n i i .
P la te 28, fig. 2.
Hapalotis Richardsonii, G^'ay, Zool. Erebus and Terror,
Mamm., pi. '2%, fig. 2, ined.
In the Appendix to Grey’s Travels in Australia, p. 403,
and in th e List of Mammals in the British Museum, 1
named these specimens Hapalotis Gouldii, since th a t time
more perfect specimens liave been received from the N. W.
coast of Australia, and Mr. Gould notes them under the
name of Hapalotis hirsutm, P.Z.S., 1851, 127, notices th a t
it is the largest species of the genus, and erroneously retains
tlie name of H. Gouldii for the one I named H. Richardsonii.
ON T H E CE TAC EOU.S A N IMA LS .
I t has been observed by Cuvier that the largest animals arc most imperfectly known, arising from the impossibility
o f bringing th e specimens side by side, and carefully comparing them with each other. I f th is is true of
the land animals, it is particularly the case with the Whales, Dolphins, Bottleiioses, and other marine Mammalia,
which can only b e seen a t distant periods, and often u nder most unpromising circumstances. F o r though we may have
Elephants, Giraffes, Elands, &c. in our Zoological Gardens and Parks, there has no plan y e t been discovered whereby
we could preserve alive, even for a short time, any o f the gigantic Whales or Cachalots, or even of the Dolphins.
Having been un d er th e necessity o f studying th e subject for the purpose o f p u ttin g into scientific order th e materials
brought home by this Expedition, and especially for the purpose o f arranging and naming the extensive collection
o f specimens o f these animals, and their osseous remains, in the British M u seum ; and thinking th a t 1 have been successful
in elucidating some few points which appear to have escaped th e Cuviers, almost the only modern authors who
appear to have attempted an extensive and systematic examination o f th e subject, I have been induced to follow the plan
adopted in the S e a ls; and throw the result o f my labours into a synoptic revi.sion of the species o f the entire family.
In this examination I hope 1 have been able to arrange the species on more secure bases, and p lac ed them together
in more natura l groups, with definite c h a ra c te rs ; b u t I make no doubt I have overlooked many things which I ought
lo have observed, and left much for my successors to accomplish.
I may add th a t our in su la r position, by enabling us more frequently to examine these animals, and the extensive
trade which we formerly carried on in them, have caused our writers to be better acquainted with them, and for us to
collect together a greater mass of their remains than our continental neighbours.
Belon and Rondelet appear to have known the Dolphin Z)<?7p/i7s), the ‘ O n d re ’ (D. Tursio), and the
Phocajna {P. vulgaris) ; b u t their account o f the Spermaceti Wha le is very indistinct.
Clusius, in 1605, first described and figured the Sperm Whale in a recognizable manner, from two specimens tlirown
on the coast of Holland in 1598 and 1601 ; and Johnston (t. 41 and 42) well figures one of these specimens.
In 1671, Martens, in his ‘ Voyage to Spilzbergen,’ gave a description and figure o f the Whalebone Whale, th e “ Fin
Fish ” (Balainopiera Physalus), the Weise Fish {Beluga Calodon), and of the Botzkopt {Orca Gladiator) : and his
figures of the first and second have been tbe chie f aulhorilies for these animals until our time.
In 1692, Sibbald published a small quarto pamphlet, with three plates, describing the Whales which had come
under his observation, H e divides them into three groups : — 1. The small Wha les with teeth in both jaw s , of which
he notices th re e :— the Orca (O. Gladiator), the Beluga, and one from hear-say, which, from its size, was probably a
Porpesse {Phocaina vulgaris). I I . The larger Whales with teeth in both jaws : — 1, the Sperm W h a le ; and, 2, the
Black-fish. And I I I . The Whale-bone Whales, o f which lie describes three specimens. The aiTangemeul he p ro posed
is the one used in this p ap e r; and his work forms the ground-work o f all th a t was known on the larger
Cetacea up to the LiniiEean time : but Artedi and Linnaeus committed the mistake o f regarding individual peculiarities
resulting from accidental circumstances as specific distinctions, so th a t three o f their species have to be reduced
to synonyma.
In 1725, Dudley, in t h e ‘ Philosophical T ra n sa c tio n s’ (No. 387), describes all the Wha les now recognized by the
whalers, ex c ep t th e B la ck -fish ; viz., 1. The R ig h t or Whalebone Whale; 2. T h e Scrag Whale. 3. T h e Fin-back
Whale. ^ 4. Bunch or Hump-back Whale. And 5. The Spermaceti Whale. Cuvier, in his historical account, does
not 1 think sufficiently estimate either Sibbald’s or Dudley’s contribution.
Boiinaterre, and after him Lacepedc, in their Catalogues, collected together all the materials they could find, and
ransacked every work th a t came in their way ; and the latter especially formed a number o f species on most insufficient
authonty : for example, making a genus on the otherwise good figure o f the Sperm Whale figured by Anderson,
because the artist h ad placed the spout on the hinder p a rt of the h e a d ; an d a division o f a genus for the Fin-fish of
Martens, because he did n o t nolice in his description or figure the fold on the belly. Yet the cha rac ters given by