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Show 234 DR. J. VON HAAST ON ZIPHIUS NOVJ2-ZEALANDIJJ. [Apr. 6, Measurements (continued). ft. in. From fork of tail to vent ° 4 From fork of tail to pudendum [j J Breadth of caudal fin ° j Base of dorsal fin l ' Height of dorsal fin ° Breadth of pectoral fin 7 Length of pectoral fin 2 6 Eye, horizontal diameter H Eye, vertical diameter 1 Before giving a description of the external appearance of the specimen under review, I wish to allude to another female, 21 feet 6 inches long, of the same species, stranded on M a y 15, 1879, on the sea-beach near Kaiapoi, and of which the skeleton was also secured. This was doubtless a full-grown, aged animal, the terminal epiphyses being so well ankylosed to the body of the vertebrae that even the line of junction could be scarcely distinguished, while in the New- Brighton specimen these disks were still unankylosed and detached themselves readily during maceration. In form of the body and coloration this animal resembled in every respect the New-Brighton specimen. However, the two teeth existing at the tip of the lower jaw could not be felt when passing the fingers over the gums, and were only disclosed when making incisions. The teeth are the smallest of all those known to me, being 1*98 and 2 inches long, and only -46 of an inch broad. The left tooth weighs 66, and the right 62 grains. The flattened root is square, and somewhat constricted a quarter of an inch above the base, after which the tooth expands, being broadest about the middle. It then contracts rapidly, running out to a sharp point. There is thus confirmatory evidence that the teeth with age are absorbed and disappear gradually below the gums, although it is possible that even below the gums they may still be of some use to the animal. It is a peculiar character of the small teeth of the Kaiapoi specimen that they should be so very thin and terminate in a sharp point, and that the latter should be covered with real enamel, different from any observed upon the dentine in any other teeth of the same species. Returning to the first-mentioned specimen from the New-Brighton beach, and of which the annexed sketch (Plate XXIII.) gives a faithful representation, it must strike us with astonishment to see the skin of this animal (a female) so fearfully lacerated. The late taxidermist of the Museum, when giving m e some notes of the external appearance of what remained of the specimeu stranded in Lyttelton Harbour in July 1872, informed m e that the upper portion was marked by numerous oval spots, two to three inches across, like the skin of the Leopard; this, as I have observed already, was the lower portion. Moreover he thought that the animal must have had fearful struggles amongst the rocks, the skin appearing torn in all directions. These peculiar oval spots were visible at the first glance on the skin of the |