I96 A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SEAS 



arch back. Like all Toothed Whales — save the Cachalot - 

 it has numerous teeth in each jaw. 



Whilst most Whales tend to be of a dark coloration, 

 the White Whale or Beluga (Delpbinapterus leucas) is of a 

 uniform glistening white. It frequents all the northern 

 seas, sometimes entering home waters, and is much in 

 demand, its skin providing commercial " porpoise hide," 

 that of the true Porpoises being quite valueless. 



The Narwhal or Sea Unicorn {Monodon monoceros), 

 though nearly related to the White Whale, is unique in its 

 extraordinary dentition. Apart from a few rudimentary 

 teeth situated normally in the jaws, its dental outfit would 

 seem to be concentrated in a pair of immense upper tusks 

 standing out horizontally from the head like the rostrum 

 of a swordfish. In the female these remain hidden in the 

 flesh and fat of the upper jaw, but in the male one — usually 

 the one on the left — is developed into a long spiral several 

 feet in length. A big adult male may measure 15 ft. in 

 length, with a tusk nearly 8 ft. long. 



The Narwhal is an inhabitant of the arctic seas, where it 

 feeds wholly upon fish — cod, flatfish and salmon. It is 

 largely hunted by the Eskimos, who eat the skin raw, use 

 the blubber for fuel, and feed the flesh to their dogs. 

 Narwhals are of a greyish white mottled colour, which 

 serves almost as a cloak of invisibility in the choppy 

 waters of their arctic home. 



In conclusion it may be said that though the full story 

 of the Whale's ancestry has yet to be told, there is little 

 doubt that the race can trace its beginning from certain 

 terrestrial or semi-aquatic mammals that flourished in the 

 remote past. Primitive Whales have serrated teeth not 



