THE GRAY WHALE 1185 



nearly allied to the right whales, presents certain peculiarities in structure which 

 entitle it to rank as a represensative of a distinct genus. It derives its common 

 name of pygmy whale from its comparatively-small size, the length never exceeding 

 twenty feet, and being sometimes only fifteen or sixteen feet. Although agreeing 

 with the right whales in having the skin of the throat smooth, and all the vertebrae 

 of the neck united into a solid mass, the pygmy whale differs by having a small fin 

 on the back, by the baleen, which is of great length and slenderness, being white, 

 and also by the small and narrow flipper containing but three digits in its skeleton. 

 The ribs are very broad and flattened, and are seventeen in number. The whale- 

 bone of this species is more flexible, more elastic, and tougher than that of any 

 other; and if it could be obtained in an}' quantity would fetch a higher price in the 

 market than that of the Greenland whale. 



THE GRAY WHALE 

 Genus Rhachianectes 



The gray whale of the North Pacific '(Rhachianectes glaucus), taking its name 

 from the bluish-gray color of its skin, is also the single representative of its genus. 

 This species serves as a kind of connecting link between the right whales on the 

 one hand and the humpback and fiuners on the other, and is in all probability a 

 very ancient and generalized type. It agrees with the humpback in the absence of 

 a fin on the back and the narrowness of the flippers, but resembles the finners in the 

 relatively-small size of the head, the elongated form of the body, the shortness and 

 brittle nature of the whalebone, and in the almost complete separation of all the verte- 

 bras of the neck. A further approximation to the humpback and finners is made by 

 the presence of a single pair of flutings in the skin of the throat. The male attains 

 a length of from thirty-five to forty-two feet, and the female from forty to forty-four 

 feet, the length of the flippers being about six and one-half feet. The general color 

 is a mottled, bluish gray, becoming very light in some individuals, while in others it 

 is nearly black. The whalebone is relatively shorter than in any other species, 

 scarcely exceeding eighteen inches in length, and is yellow in color. 



In the skeleton the ribs are remarkable for their shortness and great width, and 

 the consequent narrowness of the spaces between them; while the first two are more 

 or less completely united to form a solid shield of bone. In the flippers the joints 

 of the digits are very short and thick, and appear to be less numerous than in 

 the finners. The blubber is solid and tough, with a reddish color, and yields 

 comparatively-little oil. 



At the present day the gray whale is confined to the North Pacific, 



and does not range farther south than the twentieth parallel of north 



latitude. From the evidence of certain bones found in the superficial deposits of 



the British Islands, and described under the name of Eschrichtius, it is, however, 



not improbable that it formerly frequented the Atlantic. 



It is a migratory species, appearing on the coasts of California and Oregon for 

 the purpose of breeding from November to May, and going northward for the rest of 

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