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Show 1830.] DR. J. VON HAAST ON ZIPHIUS NOVJ2-ZEALANDLE. 235 New-Brighton specimen ; but on examining them more closely, it at once became clear that they were not natural, but were the scars of injuries the animal had received during lifetime at various periods. At the same time the animal was also covered with a number of seamed scars running in all directions, of which the form and regularity proved also that they could not have been caused by the animal being thrown amongst the rocks, but must have been inflicted by some other animal. Examining the oval spots, I found that although they varied from a length of 2 inches to that of 3 inches, and from a breadth of 1 inch to that of 2 inches, thev had invariably the same character, viz. that of an oval scar of a dirty whitish colour, both in the white and the black coloration of the skin, with two well-marked points in the centre, always about one and a quarter to one and a half inch apart. These two dots had evidently been the wounds inflicted, round which the scar had been formed. In some instances these points were quite healed over, so as to show that the injury had been done long ago : in others there were two fresh sores, as if the animal had been struck only a few hours before its death. Although occurring all over the body, with the exception of the back, these oval scars were most frequent below the belly, and principally round the pudendum, where they were often so close together that the scars not only ran into each other, but evidently covered each other, so as to show that the same spot had been struck repeatedlv. The seamed scars, on the other hand, occurred more numerously on both sides of the animal; only a few crossed the back or reached to the belly. With a few exceptions these seamed scars were always in pairs* 15 to 1\ inch apart, and each about \ inch broad. Some of them ran for a considerable distance, seven to eight feet, others only for the space of a few inches. That there had been a considerable struggle became evident from the direction these seamed scars had taken, some forming regular hooks ; some of these wounds were evidently of long standing, being well healed; others had been inflicted a very short time before the stranding of the animal, as they were quite fresh and deep, and sometimes had a breadth of f of an inch. From the character of these wounds, it appears certain that they could have only been made by an animal or animals of the same species with the two teeth of the lower jaw, the distance of their apices being one and a quarter to one and a half inch from each other, and thus corresponding with both the oval and seamed scars. The aged female from the Kaiapoi beach, of which I gave some particulars on the preceding pages, was scarred and seamed in exactly the same manner. It is thus evident that the females are subject to attacks either from the males during rutting-time, or that they fight amongst themselves In the latter case (which, however, appears to me to be rather improbable) the teeth of the specimen figured must have been of considerable use to the animal; and it is then difficult to understand how the full-grown or aged animals, when their teeth disappear below the gums, can succesfully resist the attacks of the younger members |