RIGHT WHALES 1181 



the skin of the throat, and likewise by the proportionately-large size of the head, 

 and the arched form of the sides of the mouth, which ascends in the middle far 

 above the level of the eye. The flipper is relatively short, and contains five dis- 

 tinct digits, and the whole of the seven vertebrae of the neck are welded together 

 into a solid mass. The baleen is long, narrow, very elastic, and black in color. 



The Greenland whale {Balczna mysticetus) is a northern species, 



Whale characterized by the enormous size of the head, which often exceeds 



one-third the entire length of the animal, by the high arching of the 



mouth, and the great number and length of the baleen plates. The latter in the 



middle region attain a length of ten feet or even twelve feet, and their total number 



may exceed three hundred and eighty on each side of the jaw. In order to afford 



room for such enormous structures, the narrow upper jaw is greatly arched from 



before backward, while the two branches of the lower jaw are widely separated 



behind, and curve much outward in the middle of their course. 



The manner in which the plates of baleen perform their function has been ex- 

 plained by Captain D. Gray. When the mouth of the animal is closed, the slender 

 extremities of the baleen curve backward in the direction of the throat, the longer 

 ones in the middle of the jaw occupying the hollow formed by the shorter ones be- 

 hind. When the jaws are opened for feeding, the baleen by its own elasticity 

 springs downward and forward, and thus fills up the whole space between the two 

 jaws, irrespective of their degree of separation. An effectual strainer is thus inter- 

 posed between the sides of the cavity of the mouth and the external water, which 

 prevents the food swallowed from escaping, while the water taken in at the same time 

 has full means of escape upon the closure of the mouth. The tongue is of very 

 large size, and fills up the captivity between the two series of baleen plates when the 

 mouth is shut, and the stranded prey left upon its surface after the completion of 

 the straining process is swallowed at leisure. The large lower lip, rising up at the 

 sides above the extremities of the baleen, prevents them from being borne outward 

 by the rush of water as the mouth is closing. 



The general color of the Greenland whale is black, but there is frequently more 

 or less white about the throat, flippers, and in front of the flukes, while some indi- 

 viduals are pied all over. A rough prominence at the extremity of the muzzle, 

 known as the " bonnet," is frequently present. In some individuals, at least, the 

 tail is more constricted in advance of the flukes than is the case in our figure, while 

 the flukes themselves are wider. 



The Greenland whale attains usually a length of about fifty feet, but specimens 

 have been recorded exceeding sixty feet, and it is probable that when the species 

 was more numerous its average size was greater. These whales usually yield about 

 130 barrels of oil, but specimens were formerly killed from which as much as from 

 200 to 280 barrels has been obtained. The produce of baleen may vary from 1,000 

 to over 3,000 pounds. The price of this commodity in 1881 was as much as 

 $5,300 per ton, but in ten years it had risen to upward of $13,600 for the best 

 quality, the average price being then about $12,200 per ton. 



If we follow Sir W. H. Flower in regarding the so-called bowhead whale of Beh- 

 ring Strait and the Okhotsk Sea as not specifically distinct, the range of the Greenland 



