THE WHALES AND PORPOISES. 93 



sub-order, and feeds on large fish and cetaceans, the por- 

 poise being a favourite meal. The dorsal fin is long and 



high. There are sharp teeth in either jaw. 



The grampus is not uncommon in the Channel. 

 In colour it is, like the rest, black above, white beneath ; 

 a white patch is conspicuous over the eye. 



Generically distinct from the last, Eisso's Grampus has 

 Bisso's no teeth in the upper jaw. It has not been 

 Grampus, recorded in these waters more than a dozen 



times. In colour this grampus is black above, lighter 



beneath, with irregular spots. 



The " Beluga," or White Whale, is, like so many of our 



"White whales, met with only in our more northern 



"Whale, waters. It has no dorsal fin, and the flij^pers 



are short. The head is also short, and there are small blunt 



teeth in either jaw. In colour the beluga is almost pure 



white, streaked in some cases with yellow. 



The Xarwhal is the most singular in appearance of all 

 the sub-order, and has occurred but three times ofi" the 

 coasts of these islands. It is unmistakable by 

 reason of the single enormous tooth, or tusk, 

 that protrudes from the left corner of the upper jaw to a 

 length of as much as 8 feet. There is in the right corner 

 a second tooth, which, however, save in very rare cases, 

 remains undeveloped. This strange twisted tusk is de- 

 veloped in the male only. In place of a dorsal fin, this 

 genus has a ridge along the back. In colour this species is 

 greyish white with darker spots. 



The Dolphin, next to the porpoise the commonest ceta- 

 cean in the Channel, is in that sea known, on account of 

 its beak -like snout, as the " bottlenose," a 

 name that should more properly be given to 

 the far rarer species that follows. It is not known to 

 ascend rivers, like the porpoise. (On the other hand, 



