WHALES 



Figures 164-5. {Left) Cross-section through the head of a Blue Whale foetus with open and 

 closed mouth. B = baleen; H — hyoglossus ; L = lower Jaw; Mh = mylohyoid muscle ; 

 C = layer of cutaneous muscle between the two lower jaws ; Ct = loose cotmective and 

 fatty tissue of tongue . {Kiikenthal, iSgj.) (Right) Longitudinal section through the head of a 

 Blue Whale foetus, in which the tongue still has a free tip. Ct = loose connective and fatty 

 tissue of tongue ; C = layer of cutaneous muscle between the two lower jaws ; Hb = hyoid 

 bone; Mh = mylohyoid muscle. {Kiikenthal, i8gj.) 



decomposes after death, when the gases hberated during putrefaction may 

 make the tongue swell out like a balloon. No doubt, this is the reason why 

 some people still believe the fable that whales can inflate their tongues at 

 will to help them swallow their food. The real part played by this rigid 

 organ during swallowing is, in fact, not fully known. 



A gustatory sense is said to be entirely absent in most Cetaceans, though 

 rudimentary taste organs have been described in some Odontocetes, 

 whose papillae at the base of the tongue may be considered as taste-buds. 

 In consequence, the ninth cranial nerve (the glossopharyngeal) is rather 

 insignificant in Cetaceans. In fact, all Carnivores which swallow their 

 food whole have a poor gustatory sense. Herbivorous animals, on the 

 other hand, which are in greater danger of swallowing poisons and must 

 therefore select their food more carefully, have a much more highly 

 developed gustatory sense. Small wonder then that very strange objects 

 are often found in Cetacean stomachs. Kleinenberg, for instance, while 

 examining the stomachs of Common Dolphins from the Black Sea, not 

 only found pieces of wood, feathers, paper and cherry stones, but even 

 a bouquet of flowers. On the other hand, it seems that Cetaceans have 

 some means of reacting to the salinity of the water, and some Russian 



