276 WHALES AND DOLPHINS 



about midway between the tip and the tapered lower end. As 

 a typical example the teeth of a male Cuvier's Whale 21 feet 

 long may be taken ; they were 2 J inches long and over ij inches 

 in diameter. In the female the teeth are not usually visible 

 in the living animal, and never attain the massiveness found in 

 males, but remain slender and tapering throughout life. 

 Occasionally the tips of the teeth may be visible in the female. 

 Vestigial teeth embedded in the gums of the upper and lower 

 jaws are not uncommon in this species ; the occurrence of 

 28 or 30 in a row in young animals and reduced numbers in 

 older ones suggests that as these whales grow to maturity the 

 vestigial teeth are absorbed and disappear. The scratches and 

 healed scars seen on the skin of Cuvier's Whale are believed 

 to be caused by wounds inflicted by the teeth of animals of the 

 same species. 



Cuvier's Whale grows to a length of 26 feet, that is to say it 

 is normally rather smaller than the common Bottle-nosed 

 Whale. It is a widely distributed Cetacean, and one that until 

 the recording of stranded specimens on the British coast was 

 undertaken was believed to be but rarely found in the vicinity 

 of the British Isles. Since 1913, however, there have been 

 20 well-authenticated records of this species. Some idea of its 

 range may be obtained from the following list of localities from 

 which specimens have been reported : Sweden, the Biscayan 

 shores of France and Spain, Corsica, the mouth of the Rhone, 

 Massachusetts, Buenos Aires, Cape of Good Hope, India, 

 Queensland, Tasmania, New Zealand. 



This whale is of no commercial importance and nothing is 

 known of its habits. 



Genus Mesoplodon. 

 Figs. 71, 73. 

 The genus Mesoplodon includes one or two moderately 

 abundant forms, but for the most part the information con- 

 cerning this group of Beaked Whales is exceedingly scanty, 

 and amongst its species are some of the rarest and most 

 aberrant Cetaceans known to exist. At least nine species are 

 recognized at the present time, distinguished from one another, 

 unfortunately for our present purpose, by osteological features 

 in the skull and lower jaws. A single pair of large teeth is 



