162 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF MAMMALIA. 



a broad ellipse, the margin of a huge spoon which ladles 

 in and conveys to the strainer or fringes vast quantities 

 of water replete with shoals of small Crustacea, of the clio 

 borealis, and other small tenants of the briny deep, which 

 absolutely crowd its waters. The tongue is very large, 

 thick, fleshy, fat, soft, and spongy. In the Greenland 

 whale it often exceeds 20 feet in length, and nine or ten 

 in width. The orifice of the gullet is very small ; so that 

 fish even of a moderate size cannot pass down. The 

 eyes are small, and seated just above the angle of the 

 enormous mouth. There are two distinct blow-holes on 

 the top of the head. The skin is smooth and glossy. 

 The blubber is abundant. In the Greenland whale the 

 layer of this subcutaneous lard varies from eight or ten 

 to 20 inches in depth, and a single whale of large size 

 will yield about 40 tons ;* but much more has occa- 

 sionally been obtained. The lips appear to be composed 

 oflittle more than cellular tissue and blubber. 



Referring to our pictoral specimens of osteology, Fig. 

 106 shows the skull of the Greenland whale in profile; 

 Fig. 107, an upper view of the same ; Fig 108, an under 

 view of the same, with the lower jaw removed; Fig. 

 108* represents the skeleton of the Greenland whale, 

 in which the rudiments of the pelvis are apparent. 



The Gkeenlajjd Whale, or Great Mysticete 



(^Balccna Mysticetus). 



This colossal animal, yielding oil and whalebone, both 

 valuable in a commercial point of view, is a native of the 

 arctic seas, whither it is followed by a daring race of 

 mariners amidst horrid icebergs and extensive floes, 

 where danger in every form is imminent. Cold, intense 

 beyond description, — this has to be borne ; hunger, for 

 often are the vessels ice-bound, and the provisions scanty, 

 — this has to be endured ; watchfulness, fatigue, and the 

 chance of being engulfed during the tremendous conflict, 



* The proportion of pure oil to the blubber is as three to 

 four. 



