6 
and lower part of the thorax is marked by a number of deep 
longitudinal grooves (Fig. 2). 
‘Tf teeth are present, state their number, on each side of each 
jaw, recording also their average diameter at the base, their length 
and thei: shape. In several kinds of Whale the teeth are greatly 
reduced in number, even to a single pair (Fig. 3); or one or more 
/ 
THROAT-GROOVE 
Fic. 3.—Head of a male Sowerby’s Whale, in which only two 4acee are 
present, one on each side of the lower jaw. In the females and young 
of this species, the teeth are concealed beneath the gum, and none are 
visible. 
pairs of teeth may be present beneath the gum, the animal then 
appearing toothless. In Whales with only a few teeth or none 
visible, note whether there are a pair of longitudinal grooves on 
the skin of the lower side of the throat (Fig. 3). 
The shape of the head should be described, and a sketch made 
of the profile (side view). In many kinds of Dolphin, the front 
part of the upper jaw is sharply marked off from the rest of the 
head (Fig. 1). The length of this snout or “‘ beak” should be noted. 
The external coloration should be recorded, special attention 
being given to the distribution of the dark and lhght colours 
respectively. 
A large Whale is too bulky an object to be dealt with by an 
unaided collector. It will thus be sufficient to note the above 
particulars and to secure a blade of baleen or a tooth, as the case 
may be. If a whaling station is visited, there may be an 
opportunity of securing some of the remarkable shell-like ear- 
bones which are readily separated from the skull in Cetacea. 
Special care should be taken to ascertain what kind of Whale each 
such ear-bone belonged to. 
The skeletons of Whales or Dolphins are prepared in the same 
way as those of other Mammals. In opening the abdominal cavity, 
to remove the viscera, look specially for the pelvic bones (Fig. 4, 7), 
which represent the hip-bones of other Mammals. These are a 
pair of separate bones, perhaps six inches in length in a large 
Dolphin, which are embedded in the flesh near the vent, one on 
