CHAPTER IX : RIGHT WHALES. 



Whalebone Whales. Greenland Right Whale. Black 

 Right Whales. Pigmy Right Whale. 



The features distinguishing whales from other aquatic 

 mammals and from fishes have been discussed in the Intro- 

 duction to this book, so that we can begin here with a descrip- 

 tion of the first of the two great divisions of the Order Cetacea. 

 The separation into two sub-orders is really a very simple 

 one, the one group of whales having whalebone or baleen in 

 their mouths — the Mystacoceti — and the other group without 

 whalebone but having teeth instead — the Odontoceti. It is 

 true that in the course of development vestiges of teeth are 

 found in the gums of the whalebone whales, but they are 

 merely relics which never function nor indeed appear through 

 the gums. 



The first group, the Whalebone Whales, is characterized as 

 we have just said by the presence of whalebone in the mouth. 

 This is not bone in .the accepted sense of the word, but a 

 horny substance, glossy in appearance, hard to the touch and 

 of varying flexibility in the different species encountered. 

 The arrangement of whalebone in the mouth is admirably 

 fitted for the straining function it performs. A series of 

 plates of whalebone, placed one behind the other, is suspended 



