454 ACCOUNT- OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS, 



cimen referred to, was not one of the Mysticetiis 

 kind, but of the B, Physalis, or the B. Musculus, 

 animals which considerably exceed in length any of 

 tlie common whales that I have either heard of, or 

 met with. 



When fully grown, therefore, the length of the 

 whale may be stated as varying from 50 to 65, and 

 rarely, if ever, reaching 70 feet; and its greatest 

 circumference from 30 to 40 feet. It is thickest a 

 little behind the fins, or in the middle, between the 

 anterior and posterior extremes of the animal ; from 

 whence it gradually tapers, in a conical form, to- 

 wards the tail, and slightly towards the head. Its 

 form is cylindrical from the neck, to within ten feet 

 of the tail, beyond which it becomes somewhat 

 quadrangular, the greatest ridge being upward, or 

 on the back, and running backward nearly across 

 the middle of the tail. The head has somewhat of 

 a triangular shape. The under-part, the arched 

 outline of w^iich is given by the jaw-bones, is flat, 

 and measures 16 to 20 feet in length, and 10 to 12 in 

 breadth. The lips, extending 15 or 20 feet in length, 

 and 5 or 6 in li eight, and forming the cavity of the 

 mouth, are attached to the uiider-jaw, and rise from 

 the jaw-bones, at an angle of about 80 degrees, ha- 

 ving the appearance, when viewed in front, of the 

 letter U. , The upper-jaw, inclufling the " crown- 

 bone," or skull, is bent down at the extremity, so as 

 to shut the front and upper parts of the cavity of 



