4 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 



The first work of any distinguished eminence, as a 

 separate treatise on the cetacea, is the " Phalainologia" 

 of Sir Rohert Sihbald, published in Edinburgh in 

 1692, and in London in 1778- In this work the 

 author professes to describe the rare species of whales 

 that have been cast on the shores of Scotland, distin- 

 guishing them, according to their natural characters, 

 into genera and species, and adding some observations 

 on the nature, origin, and use of spermaceti and am- 

 bergris. Considering the time at which it was written, 

 it is a valuable work, containing accurate descriptions, 

 and, in general, judicious remarks : it first treats of 

 whales in general ; and then distinguishes them into such 

 as have teeth in both jaws, such as have teeth only in 

 the lower jaw, and such as want teeth altogether (the 

 proper balcena). He particularly describes the grampus, 

 the small spermaceti whale, or round-headed cachalot ; 

 the black-headed spermaceti whale, or great-headed ca- 

 chalot; the high-finned cachalot, of Pennant; the com- 

 mon Greenland whale ; the pike-headed whale ; and 

 the round-lipped whale. 



As far as Sir Robert Sibbald depends upon his own 

 observation, he appears pretty correct in his descrip- 

 tions ; and his work must be deemed one of the best 

 treatises on cetaceology, and far superior to any thing 

 that appeared for nearly a century afterwards. 



Early in the eighteenth century, Artedi, the friend 

 and companion of Linnaeus, composed his " Synopsis 

 Piscium," into which he introduced the cetaceous ani- 

 mals as an order of fishes. He distinguishes a greater 

 number of species than had before been enumerated. 

 His specific characters are, in general, highly exjjressive 

 and very accurate, althou h he appears to have copied an 

 error from Rondelet, in describing the grampus as hav- 



