THE BLACK-PISH 61 



lips, as if endeavouring' to drasr his month open, which I after- 

 wards saw was their principal object, as whenever, during the 

 tumult, I caught sight of them, they were still in the same 

 position. At last the tremendous and incessant blows, dealt 

 by the most active member of the trio, seemed actually to have 

 exhausted the immense vitality of the great ' bowhead, ' for he lay 

 supine upon the surface. Then the three joined their forces, 

 and succeeded in dragging open his cavernous mouth, into 

 which they freely entered, devouring his tongue. This, then, had 

 been their sole object, for as soon as they had finished their 

 barbarous feast, they departed, leaving him helpless and dying, 

 to fall an easy prey to our returning boats. ' ' 



Genus Glohicephalus. 



Teeth, 8 to 12, confined to the anterior half of the jaw; small 



and conical, and widely separated. Flippers very long and 



narrow. Fore part of the head rounded. Dorsal fin low and 



triangular, the length of the base more than the vertical height. 



The Black-fish. 



Globicepltalus viclas. 



Nearly uniform black in colour, except in the middle of the under 

 surface, which is lighter. Length, 20 feet. 



Gregarious and timid in disposition. Feeds on cuttle-fish. 



Genus Tursiops. 

 Teeth, 21 to 25 in each jaw, stout. Beak tapering slightly 

 from the base to the apex. Flippers moderate, narrow. 



