358 SPECIES OF RIGHT WHALES CHAP. 



beast, moreover, appears to be fierce, a somewhat rare attribute 

 of Whales. It has been spoken of, indeed, as " a cunning, 

 courageous, and vicious " animal. Rhacliianectes is essentially a 

 coast Whale, and loves to lie in the surf in quite shallow water 

 waiting for the tide to float it off. This Whale varies much in 

 colour from black to mottled grey and black, and reaches a length 

 of about 40 feet. 



Fam. 2. Balaenidae. The Eight Whales of the genus 

 Balaena are to be distinguished from Neolmlaena and from 

 the Eorquals by the following characters : 



The size is large, 50 to 60 feet. There is no dorsal fin. The 

 head is more than or nearly one-fourth of the entire length of 

 the animal. The baleen is very long. The throat is not grooved. 

 The orbital process of the frontal is not wider than the down- 

 ward process of the maxilla. The cervical vertebrae are all 

 fused. The scapula is rather high. The hind- limb has the 

 rudiment of a tibia. The intestine has no caecum. 



A vast number of different genera have been founded on 

 detached bones, bits of whalebone, and more or less complete 

 skeletons of Eight Whales coming from different parts of the 

 world. In Dr. Gray's catalogues we find the following allowed, 

 viz. Balaena, Eubalaena, Hunterius, Caperea, Macleayius. The 

 number of " species " distributed among the genera is some 

 thirteen or more, with whose names we shall not trouble the 

 reader. As a matter of fact there are not more than two species 

 which can with certainty be identified and distinguished, both of 

 which are so close that they cannot possibly be placed but in 

 the same genus, Balaena. In no group of Whales in no group 

 of animals probably has imagination run riot to so terrible an 

 extent in the formation of genera and species as in these Eight 

 Whales. This multiplication or rather division of genera has 

 arisen from an old idea that Whales coming from different seas 

 must be of different kinds, a notion now thoroughly exploded. 



The term " Eight Whale " simply means that the Whales of 

 this genus are the right kind of Whale for the whaler to pursue. 

 Their whalebone is longer and more valuable, while the oil is 

 not only more abundant but of a superior quality. The two 

 species demand a separate account. 



The Greenland Whale, Balaena mysticetus, is one of the rare 

 instances of a Whale which has an exceedingly limited range in 



