256 A BOOK OR WHALES 







The sharply marked-off "beak" of the dolphin 

 (which it shares of course with many other Del- 

 phinidae) has given rise to such vernacular names 

 as " Bee d'Oie," and the form of the head often re- 

 peated in ancient boats shows that perhaps a hint 

 as to the proper form of a boat was derived from this 

 swift creature. The ancients appear to have confused, 

 to some extent, dolphins and sharks, for they speak 

 of the mouth of the former being ventral in position, 

 and say that the animal is obliged to turn upon its 

 back before it can swallow its prey. Pliny, who 

 always mixed up fact and fiction in one inextricable 

 tangle, added to this imaginary portrait the further 

 detail that the dolphin was armed with a long and 

 spiny fin, with which it could successfully attack other 

 creatures possibly a confusion with the long and 

 narrow dorsal fin of Orca. Its movements are rapid. 

 It has been called "the arrow of the sea," and a 

 proverb has emphasised this : Of those who desire 

 something impossible it is said that they wish to 

 catch a dolphin by the tail. The curved form in 

 which the conventional dolphin of heraldry is ex- 

 hibited is an indication of the frequency with which 

 this Cetacean will leap out of the water. Under 

 these circumstances the body is naturally arched. On 

 coins, medals, anr 1 coats-of-arms of Mediterranean 

 countries and cities the dolphin takes the place that 

 the Biscayan whale does along the northern shores 

 of Spain. A dolphin forms the arms of the eldest 

 son of the King of France, who was styled in con- 

 sequence " Dauphin." This seems to be a curious 



