53 
a small quantity of inferior whalebone, and a limited amount of blubber 
or subcutaneous fat. There are four and probably five species of the 
rorqual. (1) Sibbaldi, named in honor of Sir Robert Sibbaldi; Borealis; 
(3) Rostrata; (4) Musculus, and (5) Sulphureus. The sibbaldi is the 
greatest of all the whales. Whalers know it by its large size and by the 
height to which it spouts. Its speed too, when going rapidly, is great— 
something like twelve miles an hour. It feeds upon Crustacea, lives mainly 
in pairs, and reproduction is said to take place every three years. The 
species borealis, known as Rudolph’s Rorqual has a length of forty to fifty 
feet; color bluish black above and white below; upper surface with oblong 
light spots. Baleen black with white bristles; number of plates three hun- 
dred and thirty. It is inoffensive in character. It is estimated that it can 
remain under water eight to twelve hours. The species rostrata has a 
length of twenty-five to thirty-three feet, color greyish-black above, and 
white below; dorsal fin high at commencement of last third of the body; 
pectoral fin one-eighth of the total length of the body; pilates of baleen 
about three hundred and twenty-five. This is the smallest of the rorquals, 
and is readily distinguished from them by the white band which crosses 
the pectoral limb, and by the sharp snout—hence the specific name of 
“rostrata”. The species musculus, grows to a length of sixty to seventy 
feet. The color is gray-slate above, white below. The dorsal fin low with 
straight margins, is placed slightly in front of the last fourth of the body; 
the pectoral fin has a length of one-ninth of the body. The plates of 
baleen and bristle are of a dark bluish black color, and the number of them 
ranges up to three hundred and seventy. This is perhaps the commonest 
species of the rorquals. The species Sulphureus, commonly known as the 
“Sulphur Bottom’ whale, is one of the longest of the whales; an example 
of it having been measured and found to be ninety-five feet in length with 
a girth of thirty-nine feet. It weighed one hundred and forty-seven tons, 
and yielded one hundred and ten barrels of oil. Ordinarily one of them 
yields about eight hundred pounds of baleen or whalebone. The name is 
derived from the yellowish color of the under parts of its body; the back 
is lighter in color than is usual, and is sometimes a very light brown, 
approaching to white. During the months from May to September, inclus- 
ive, these whales are found in large numbers close in with the shore. 
The family Odontoceti is composed of the toothed whales. Correlated 
with the presence of the teeth is the absence of baleen or whalebone. 
Beddard says, “So sharply defined are the Odontoceti from the Mystacoceti 
that intermediate types are sadly to seek; and both additions, in fact, 
have each specialized on their account in the same kind of Girection in 
parallel lines. We have great-headed Cetaceans in both groups. The 
Cachalot corresponds to the Right whale. ‘There are giants and pigmies 
amongst the families of each. The small Kogia is a near ally of the bulky 
Cachalot. The somewhat dwarfish Neobalaena is not far off from the 
leyiathan of the Greenland seas. There are Odontocetes without a dorsal fin, 
and Odontocetes with that fin. The Rorquals correspond to the latter, the 
Greenland whale to the former. The head of the Sperm whale or cachalot 
