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HA R D WICKE 'S S CIENCE - G O SSIF. 



dismal consequences that follow in its train. On 

 this account, the birds were first dubbed by Spanish 

 sailors "Mother Carey's Chickens," in allusion to 

 the care and watchfulness which the Blessed Virgin 

 (Span. Madre cava, i.e. Mother dear) is supposed to 

 exercise over the wayfarers of the seas, in thus-wise 

 warning them of impending danger. 



THE SEALS AND WHALES OF THE 

 BRITISH SEAS. 



No. IV. 



By Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S., &c. 



THE occasional stranding upon our shores of some 

 monster member of the order Cetacea serves 

 from time to time to reawaken our interest in these 

 wonderful animals, and sets us thinking how little we 

 know about them, and how small is our acquaintance 

 Avith their life-history. 



Nor is this surprising at when we coi>sider the 

 difficulties in the way of studying the larger Cetacea, 

 which are so great as to be almost insuperable to any 

 ordinaiy person, and even to the leaders of zoological 

 science rarely does the opportunity present itself of 

 examining specimens in the flesh ; for, of the rare in- 

 stances in which they are cast ashore, the majority 

 occur in wild and unfrequented parts of the coast, 

 where they are probably cut up for their oil before a 

 naturalist has an opportunity of examining them. 

 Their unnatural position when cast up, and their 

 altered appearance, from the falling in of some parts 

 and distension of others, make correct portraiture 

 almost impossible ; and their great size renders it 

 difficult and expensive to make them serviceable to 

 science, whilst the putrid condition in which they 

 are frequently found renders a close examination any- 

 thing but desirable. If seen in their native element, 

 where alone they should be seen duly to appreciate 

 their grand proportions and perfect adaptation to 

 their mode of life, the view must be brief and too 

 often distant, certainly affording no opportunity for 

 close observation. There is thus little left for natu- 

 rahsts to study, except the bony skeletons, and of 

 these often mere fragments. Under these circum- 

 stances, we shall cease to wonder at the great con- 

 fusion which, till recently, existed in the classification 

 and nomenclature of the Cetacea, and which has been 

 only partially cleared away by the labours of the late 

 Dr. Gray and Professors Flower and Turner in this 

 country, and by Professors Eschricht, Reinhardt, Van 

 Beneden, and others on the continent. The literature 

 of the subject is widely scattered and difficult of 

 access ; and although Dr. Gray and Professor Flower 

 have done much to condense and systematize what is 

 known, our acquaintance with the tropical and 

 southern species of this interesting order is not at 

 present sufficient to furnish materials for a monograph 



worthy of the subject. No class of animals has, 

 I believe, been called so many names, or so vilely 

 caricatured in portraits, as the unfortunate Whales. 



It is scarcely necessary now to say that the Cetacea 

 hold a fully recognized place in the great class 

 j\Iai)unalia, although this honour has not always been 

 accorded to them. Ray classed them with the Fishes ; 

 and although Linnaeus places them in their true po- 

 sition. Pennant failed to do so. The members of this 

 order, which includes the Whales proper. Narwhal, 

 Dolphins, and Porpoises (and, till recently, the Du- 

 gong and Manatees, which were styled herbivorous 

 cetaceans), differ from the Fishes in bringing forth- 

 their young alive. They are nourished by the female, 

 which, for this purpose, is furnished with two in- 

 guinal mammae. They are warm-blooded, and 

 breathe by means of lungs, rendering frequent visits 

 to the surface of the water necessary, as the animal 

 can only respire when the orifice of the nostrils, 

 called the blow-hole, which is placed on the top of 

 the head, is above water. The breathing apparatus 

 is very peculiar, being so modified that the air is 

 admitted into the trachea without passing through 

 the mouth ; the whale can thus breathe freely, pro- 

 vided the blow-hole be above water, even when its 

 mouth is submerged or filled with water. All the 

 members of the family are carnivorous, feeding on 

 marine animals, some possessing formidable teeth, 

 which are, however, used only for purposes of pre- 

 hension ; others possess teeth in the lower jaw only ; 

 and in one section the teeth are never developed, but 

 in their stead, from the upper jaw depend curious 

 plates, arranged side by side, to which the name of 

 baleen has been given. The body is encased in a 

 layer of fat, called "blubber," which serves to main- 

 tain the heat of the body, and the skin is smooth, 

 polished, and quite devoid of hair or scales. On the 

 back of most species is found a fleshy dorsal fin, and 

 the fore limbs are represented by flippers externally 

 undivided ; the hind limbs, so far as external ap- 

 pearance is concerned, are altogether absent, but a 

 rudimentaiy pelvis is found embedded in the flesh. 

 The tail forms the chief organ of locomotion : it is 

 always fixed horizontally, and is of great size and 

 power, enabling the animal, by its vigorous use, to 

 attain great speed. There are many and striking 

 peculiarities in the bony skeleton which I will not now 

 enumerate. 



I shall now proceed to give some account of the 

 species which have been found in the British seas. 

 It will, however, first be necessary to say a few 

 words as to the arrangement of the genera and 

 species ; and in doing so, I shall follow the classifica- 

 tion adopted in the second edition of Bell's " British 

 Quadrupeds." I shall enter into this part of the 

 subject so far only as is necessary for us clearly to 

 understand the relative positions of the species which 

 we shall have to consider. 



Professor Flower divides the order Cetacea into two 



