I2O2 



THE CETACEANS 



LESSER SPERM WHALE 

 Genus Cogia 



The lesser sperm whale ( Cogia breviceps} is a little-known species, differing 

 widely both in size and form from the sperm whale; and more resembling a porpoise 

 in both these respects. It agrees, however, with the sperm whale in having no 

 functional teeth in the upper jaw and a full series in the lower. The rudimentary 

 upper teeth are reduced to a single pair, or maybe wanting; and there are only from 

 nine to twelve pairs of teeth in the lower jaw. These teeth, which are rather long 



and slender, with curved 

 summits, differ from 

 those of the sperm 

 whale in having a coat- 

 ing of enamel; and the 

 two branches of the 

 lower jaw are united for 

 less than half their 

 length. The upper sur- 

 face of the hinder part 

 of the skull is hollo wed, 

 with a thick elevated 

 rim behind and at the 

 base; and the rostral 

 portion of the skull is 

 shorter and more 

 rapidly tapering than 

 in the larger species. 



This whale attains a length of about ten feet; and, as already said, is not unlike a 

 porpoise in general appearance. The head is about one-sixth the total length, and 

 has a bluntly-pointed muzzle, with the small mouth opening on the under surface, 

 far behind the extremity. The back carries a large fin. The color of this species 

 is glistening black above, becoming paler beneath. 



The lesser sperm whale is known only from a comparatively-small number of 

 individuals obtained from such widely-separated areas as the Indian and Australian 

 seas, the Cape of Good Hope, and the North Pacific; and we may accordingly 

 assume that it has probably an almost cosmopolitan distribution. Nothing has at 

 present been ascertained in regard to its habits. 



THE WATER-WORN SKULL, WITHOUT THE LOWER JAW, OF A 



WHALE ALLIED TO THE BOTTLE-NOSE. 



(From Sir W. H. Flower, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1882.) 



THE BOTTLE-NOSE WHALE 

 Genus Hyperoodon 



The bottle-nose whale (^Hyperoodon rostratus], which is one of the most common 

 Cetaceans stranded on the British shores, is the first representative of a group of 

 fcur allied genera distinguished from the sperm whales by the functional teeth 



