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Cetology. whale. The whole animal ia of a shining brown 

 *" "Y""*'' colour on the upper surface, and a brilliant white 

 below. The head resembles a sort of cone, and is 

 equal to about a third of the whole length of the 

 animal. The eye is situated very near the corners 

 of the mouth, and not far from this point is seen the 

 insertion of the swimming paws, which are of an 

 oval form, and of a length equal to about a ninth 

 part of the whole body. The tongue is not very 

 large. The horny plates are of a blueish colour in 

 the young animal, but of a brown, bordered with 

 yelloxv, in those more advanced. They are so short 

 as often to be as broad as they are long ; but their 

 hairy extremities are long, and appear as if twisted 

 round each other. 



^IF ^*- This animal is particularly remarkable for its dor- 



sal fin, which is of a triangular form, with the point 

 turned backwards, and is situated at the posterior 

 extremity of the back. It is of considerable length, 

 being, in an individual of the usual size, from three 

 to four feet long. It is from this circumstance that 

 seamen have given to this species the name of^/tw- 

 Jish. 



It has been found in a great variety of situations, 



as the Greenland seas, the seas of North America, 



Indian Ocean, and even in the Mediterranean Sea, 



one of them having been seen by Marten in the 



,^|l Straits of Gibraltar. Pennant describes it as a British 



species, and it appears to have beea seen off Harwich. 



It feeds on herrings, mackerel, a species of salmon, 



and other small fish. 



The fin-fish has very considerable power in the 

 muscles attached to its blow-holes, and is said to 

 eject the water with much more violence, and to a 

 much greater height than the. common whale. It 

 also swims with extreme velocity, and easily escapes 

 pursuit. 



Whether any particular enmity subsists between 

 the fin-fish and the common whale, is not certain ; 

 but it has been remarked, in the seas about Spitz- 

 bergen, that when the former makes its appearance, 

 the latter is no longer to be seen. 



From the thinness of the body, and of the blubber 

 below the skin in this species, it is not considered as 

 a profitable object of pursuit. An ordinary sized 

 fish is said to yield only 10 tons of oil. The flesh, 

 however, especially that of the swimming paws, is 

 said to be well tasted, resembling that of the stur- 

 geon, and as well as the skin, is eaten by the inhabi- 

 tants of Greenland. 



Species 4. Balcenoptera Acuio-rostrata. Beaked or 

 Piked Whale. 



Baloena Rostrata, Linn. Syst. Nat. et Fabricii. 

 Baleine a Bee. Bonnat. Encyclop. Method. Balcena 

 ore rostrato, Klein, Miss. Pise. Baleinoptere Mus- 

 cau-pointu. La Cepede, p. 134. 



Of all the whalebone whales, this appears to be 

 the smallest species, seldom exceeding 24 or 27 feet 

 in length. It receives its name from the pointed 

 form of its snout, which is still more acute than that 

 >f the second species. 



The upper jaw is much narrower and shorter than 

 the lower, though both arc lengthened, and terminate 

 in an acute point. The plates of whalebone are 

 very short, of a triangular form, and of a whitish 

 colour, ending below in very long whitish hairs. 



The number of plates on each side is about 200. 

 The tongue is thick, fleshy, and susceptible of being " 

 raised, inflated, and thrust forward to the extremity 4* 

 of the mouth. 



The under part of the head, and of the fore part 

 of the body, is covered with a skin thai is plaited 

 longitudinally into numerous parallel folds, that ex- 

 tend the whole breadth of the body, from one swim- 

 ming paw to the other. These folds disappear when 

 the skin is stretched, which, both in this and the 

 third species, is effected by a particular pouch, 

 placed within the skin of the mouth, between the two 

 branches of the lower jaw, extending below the bel- 

 ly, and which the animal has the power of inflating 

 whenever he finds it convenient to diminish his spe- 

 cific gravity. The whole upper part~of the body is 

 of a fine black colour, the lower portion is white, 

 shaded with black, while the furrows between the 

 longitudinal folds, as in the third species, are of a red 

 colour. 



The swimming paws appear to be situated higher 

 or lower, according as the animal swims more or less 

 above the surface of the water. The dorsal fin is 

 triangular, a little hollowed in the back part, placed 

 above the anus, and inclined towards the tail. The 

 lobes of the tail are divided from each other by a 

 deep, but narrow cleft. 



This is also an inhabitant of the Greenland seas, 

 but has occasionally visited the German ocean. A 

 beautiful individual of this species was caught about 

 SO years ago, on the Dogger Bank, and was brought 

 to London, where it was purchased by Mr John 

 Hunter, and is described and figured by him in the 

 Philosophical Transactions for 1787. 



The flesh of this species is considered as a great 

 delicacy by the Greenlanders, and they accordingly 

 pursue it with great eagerness. In this pursuit they 

 do not employ the harpoon, but shoot at the animal 

 with arrows. 



The piked whale feeds on most kinds of small fish, 

 which it pursues with such keenness, that its prey is 

 often seen leaping out of the sea, in endeavouring 

 to avoid their merciless pursuer. 



ORDER II. PR^EDENTATE CETACEA, or 

 those with teeth only in the fore part of the upper 

 jaw. 



GENUS III. MONODON. Linn. NARWALUS; La 

 Cepede. NARWHALS. 



THE animals of this tribe have a single opening for jj ar 

 the blow-holes, situated over the nape of the neck, tribe. 

 and instead of teeth have generally a single tusk or 

 horn, (rarely two,) proceeding from one side of the 

 snout, a considerable length, more or less pointed at 

 the end, and spirally twisted. Their head is not so 

 thick or long in proportion to their body, as that of 

 the two preceding tribes, and terminates in an obtuse 

 rounded snout. Their mouth is small, and entirely V 

 destitute of teeth, or horny plates. The upper sur- 

 face and sides of the body are variegated with spots 

 of different forms, and a longitudinal ridge extends 

 from the origin of the tail to a considerable distance 

 along the back. The proper narwhals have no dor- 

 sal fin. 



These animals live chiefly in the seas about Green- 

 land and Iceland. They feed on the smaller fishes 

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