imon 

 rwhal. 



CETO 



ecology, and mollubca. They swim with great velocity, and 

 appear to employ their horns both ait weapons, and 

 as instruments for dislodging shell-fish, Sec. from the 



Tlu-re is some ambiguity respecting the species of 

 this genus. Linnc- described but one species, and 

 naturalists are not yet agreed whether more should 

 be admitted. As, however, there are at least two 

 varieties of these animals, which appear to differ by 

 characters that are sufficiently fixed and permanent, 

 it seems proper that they should be considered as se- 

 parate species. Accordingly La Cepede has so dis- 

 tinguished them, and Mr Fleming, in an excellent 

 paper on one of these species, in the Memoirs of the 

 IVerneriun Natural History Society, has followed his 

 example, though his specific characters differ from 

 those of the French naturalist. The names and cha- 

 racters given by Mr Fleming, which we shall here 

 adopt, are as follows. 



1. Monodon Vulgaris, of a figure approaching to 

 ovoid, with the head equal to th of the whole length ; 

 the dorsal ridge extending from the tail to the blow- 

 hole, and the lobes of the tail rounded. 2. Monodon 

 Microcep/ialus, with the body of a conical shape, a 

 blunt head equal to T '<jth of the whole length, the 

 dorsal ridge extending from the tail only to the 

 middle of the back, and the lobes of the tail pointed. 



Species 1. Monodon 1'itlgaris, common narwhal, or 

 unicorn-fish. 



Monodon Monoceros, Lin. Syst.Nat. Nanval Vul~ 

 gaire, La Cepede, Hist. Nat. dea Get. 142. Nar/i- 

 val, vet unicornu marinum. Pontop. Nat. Hist. Norw. 

 Unicorn Narwal, Shaw, Gen. Zool. vol. ii. part ii. 



The common narwhal grows to the length of from 

 20 to 22 feet, and is about 12 feet in circumference. 

 Individuals of greater dimensions are said to have been 

 seen, but the relations appear not to be authentic. 

 The general figure of the body is oblong and oval, 

 with a broad convex back. The prevailing colour is 

 grey, or light brown, with numerous spots of a 

 darker colour on the back and sides, while the lower 

 part of the head and body is of a uniform shining 

 white. 



The head is scarcely to be distinguished from the 

 rest of the body, except by a slight depression, a little 

 behind the opening of the blow-hole. The forehead 

 is low, and not very prominent ; the snout is rounded, 

 and obtuse ; the mouth so small as, according to 

 some accounts, to be incapable of receiving a body 

 much larger than a man's hand ; and the opening of 

 the blow-hole is in the form of a crescent. 



The swimming paws are about a foot long, and 

 eight inches broad. The lobes of the tail have a di- 

 rection away from the body, and are blunt and round- 

 ded at the tip. A very conspicuous ridge, several 

 inches high, extends from the blow-hole to the origin 

 of the tail, diminishing gradually in height as it ap- 

 proaches the tail. 



The skin is thin, and the blubber in small quantity, 

 though it is said to yield an oil superior to that of 

 any other whale. 



The most curious part of this animal's structure is 

 its horn or tooth. This organ is inserted to the depth 

 of a foot or more into the bones of the skull, and 

 from its insertion to near its exit from the head ; it is 



VOL. v. PART n. 



L O G Y. ^>d89 



smooth and hollow. From the snout it gradually Cttolofjr. 

 tapers to its other extremity, and is regularly and S "^V"~' 

 gently twisted. It does not stand out from the head 

 in a perpendicular direction, but diverges considerably 

 towards one side, so that in those cases where there 

 are two teeth, their farther extremities are at least 

 eighteen inches asunder, while at the Knout their 

 distance is only about two inches. The substance of 

 this horn is exceedingly hard and dense, nearly resem- 

 bling the tusk of the elephant, but of a finer grain, 

 and less liable to become yellow. 



This species has not, we believe, been found be- 

 yond the limits of the northern ocean, where it fre- 

 quents the bays, and those parts that are most free 

 from ice. Here the animals assemble in considerable 

 numbers ; and when frightened or pursued, they 

 huddle together, so as often to wound each other 

 with their formidable horns. When this happens, 

 they extricate tltemselves with difficulty, and be- 

 come an easy prey to their pursuers. When alone and 

 at liberty, however, they are not easily taken, as they 

 swim with great swiftness, and frequently dive below 

 the surface. 



The narwhal is said sometimes to attack the whale. 

 We have some doubts of the accuracy of this asser- 

 tion, and suspect that the sword-fish, already men- 

 tioned as the chief terror of that monster of the deep, 

 has been mistaken for the present species, which 

 seems to be a harmless and inoffensive creature, ex- 

 cept when provoked, or rendered desperate by ag- 

 gression. 



The spoils of this animal are of great value. We 

 have already said that its oil is of a very fine qua- 

 lity. Its flesh and intestines are greedily eaten by 

 the Greenlanders, and its horn affords a much finer 

 and better coloured ivory than the tusk of the ele- 

 phant, and has been employed for making various ar- 

 ticles of luxury. Among others, we are told of a 

 magnificent throne entirely composed of narwhals 

 horns, which belongs to the kings of Denmark, and 

 is carefully preserved in the royal castle of Rosen - 

 burg at Copenhagen. The Greenlanders employ 

 these horns for more homely purposes, as parts of 

 their buildings. 



Species 2. Monodon Microcephalus. Small-headed 

 Narwhal. 



Nanval Microcephale, La Cepede, Hist. Nat. des SnuIJ- 

 Cet. 159. Small -headed narival t Fleming, Mem. headed 

 Wern. Nat. Hist. Soc. vol. i. p. 131. narwhal. 



This species is of considerable size, varying from Jijocviv 

 12 to 26 feet in length, and of proportional circum- F - ^ * 

 ference. Its body is of a narrower and more conical 

 shape than that of the former species, and its head 

 considerably smaller. Its upper surface is more flat 

 and even. The colour of its upper parts is usually a 

 dusky black, variegated with spots which, from being 

 of a darker hue, aie not very apparent. On the sides 

 the spots are more conspicuous, and of an oblong 

 form. The belly is of a white colour. The whole 

 skin is smooth and glossy, very thin, and closely 

 united to the fat. The forehead is high, and rises 

 abruptly from the snout, proceeding afterwards for a 

 few inches in nearly a horizontal direction, till it rises 

 into a slight elevation, in the fore part of which is 

 situated the blow-hole. The mouth is extremely 

 4 s 





