Pigmy Sperm Whale 



Description. Head oblong, level with the back on top and square 

 and truncate in front, forming nearly one-third of the total 

 length of the animal; lower jaw shallow and very narrow in 

 front, armed with 22 to 24 large teeth on each side. Back 

 with a hump on the neck and several humps farther back, but 

 no dorsal fin. Colour black or blackish brown, lighter below, 

 sometimes marbled. 



Range. Tropical and subtropical oceans, now very rare in the North 

 Atlantic. 



The sperm whale or Cachalot is the largest of the toothed 

 cetaceans, and in its great bulk recalls the whalebone whales, 

 though the peculiar truncated head and narrow, shallow lower 

 jaw, with its formidable array of teeth, serve easily to distinguish 

 it. The nostrils of the sperm whale open at the extreme front 

 of the head instead of farther back, as in the whalebone whales, 

 and its "spout" issues diagonally forward instead of vertically up- 

 ward. This peculiarity enables whalers to identify the sperm 

 whale at very great distances. 



This animal seems to feed at great depths and is able to 

 remain under water longer than any other species — sometimes for 

 over an hour at a time, according to Captain Scammon. When 

 at the surface it respires thirty to sixty times at short intervals 

 with great regularity and then, "pitching head-foremost down- 

 ward, turns his flukes high in the air and when gaining nearly 

 a perpendicular attitude descends to a great depth." 



The food of the sperm whale consists of various "squids" 

 or cuttlefish. The "ambergris" discharged from its intestines is 

 a valued article of perfume. 



Pigmy Sperm Whale 



Kogia breviceps (Blainville) 



Length. 10-15 f^et. 



Description. In a general way much like the preceding, but differs 



in its small size, slender curved teeth, and in the presence 



of a fin on the back. 

 Range. North Atlantic and other oceans. Several specimens have 



been taken on our shores of late years, although it is a rare 



animal. 



x8 



