FIN WHALES, OR RORQUALS 1189 



of the mouth is consequently nearly straight, and does not rise above the level 

 of the eye. 



P A in whales are the most common and widely distributed of all the larger 

 Cetaceans, and are far more active and speedy in their movements than right whales; 

 and since their yield of blubber is relatively small, while the shortness and inferior 

 quality of their whalebone renders it of much less value than that of the right 

 whales, they were formerly but little molested by whalers. The yearly increasing 

 scarcity of the Greenland whale, and the enormous advance in the price of whale- 

 bone, coupled with the invention of harpoon guns, which renders the capture of 

 these animals far less difficult than in the old days, have, however, led to both 

 humpbacks and finners being regularly hunted. Fin whales are found in nearly all 

 seas except those of the Antarctic regions, and the four well-defined species have 

 an almost cosmopolitan distribution; but there is some evidence that the Indian seas 

 possess two other species with a much more limited distribution. 



Most of the fin whales feed mainly on fish, the larger species consuming an 

 enormous quantity of cod. 



SKELETON OF FIN WHALE. 



The smallest representative of the group is the lesser fin whale, or 

 p. ..,, . rorqual {Balcenopter a ro strata}, frequently known, from its pointed muz- 

 zle, as the pike whale. It is represented in the figure on the next page. 

 The average length of this species varies from twenty-five to thirty feet, and a length 

 of thirty-three feet is but very seldom exceeded. The general color of the upper 

 parts is grayish black, while the whole of the under surface, inclusive of the flukes, 

 is white. The most distinctive characteristic of the species, is, however, the broad 

 band of white running across the upper part of the outer surface of the flippers, 

 which forms a striking contrast to the black of the remainder. The flippers meas- 

 ure about one-eighth the entire length of the animal, and the number of pairs of 

 ribs is eleven. The whalebone is nearly white. 



This whale is by no means rare on the British coast; and an example was cap- 

 tured off the Scilly islands as late as 1887, while two were taken in the Firth of 

 Forth in the year following. It is more common on the shores of Norway, where it 

 is frequently captured in the bays and fiords; the natives stretching a net across the 

 mouth, after one or more whales have entered, and then dispatching them with 

 spears. Its habits in North- American waters, where it is known as the sharp-nosed 

 finner, are described by Captain Scammon. He writes that this whale " frequently 

 gambols about vessels when under way, darting from one side to another beneath 

 their bottoms. When coming to the surface, it makes a quick, faint spout, such as 

 would be made by a suckling of one of the larger Cetaceans, which plainly accounts 



