PHYSETER. 45 



17. Physeter. 



O A O 



to = 4 to s- 



Physeter Linn., Syst. Nat., i, 1758, p. 76. i, 1766, p. 107. Type 



Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus. 



Tursio Flem., Phil. Zool., n, 1822, p. 211. (nee Wagl. nee Gray.) 

 Upper teeth rudimentary; lower jaw with 20 to 25 on each side, 

 conical, pointed, and recurved; posterior and lateral edges of cranium 

 raised into a compressed semi-circular crest. Cranium above con- 

 cave; rostrum elongate, its base broad, thence tapering to the tip; 

 mandible long and narrow, the symphysis being more than half the 

 length of the ramus; vertebrae, co; zygomatic process of jugula thick, 



massve. 



FIG. XVI. PHYSETER MACROCEPHALUS. CACHALOT WHALE. 



31. macrocephalus (Physeter), Linn., Syst. Nat., i, 1758, p. 76, 



i, 1766, p. 107. Elliot, Syn. N. Am. Mamm., 1901, p. 15. 

 CACHALOT. SPERM WHALE. 



Type locality. North Atlantic. 



Geogr. Distr. All seas. 



Genl. Char. Size very large; head about one-third the length of 

 body, high, truncate, compressed in front; blow-hole longitudinal, 

 placed to the left of the median line on the upper end. 



Color. Above black, shading gradually on the sides into the gray 

 of the under parts. Individuals sometimes are piebald. 



Measurements. Total length of male, 55 to 60 feet; female much 

 smaller. 



