i86] 



Fish and Their Fabulous Neighbors 



THE BREED OF MOBY DICK 



The sperm whale, with a maximum length of sixty feet and a maximum weight of 

 sixty tons, is not among the largest whales! Its nose may yield as much as a ton 

 of spermacetti, an oil which has many uses. Its head is about one-third the length 

 of its whole body. Moby Dick (in Herman Melville's classic) was a sperm whale. 



Strangely enough, this largest of creatures lives on very small 

 animals. Only one species the sperm whale is capable of swal- 

 lowing a man whole. Others would be apt to choke on any large 

 prey. The sperm whale's teeth are usually only on the lower jaw; 

 its diet consists chiefly of fish and squid. 



Of course, the "killer" whales and the species known as por- 

 poises have teeth; but the largest whales are equipped, instead, 

 with enormous strainers. These are made of whalebone plates 

 which, despite their name, are not bone at all but material re- 

 sembling that of human fingernails. The whalebone plates, 

 bordered with a horsehair-like fringe, grow from the roof of the 

 mouth. When the whale swims with its mouth open, quantities 

 of shrimp and other small creatures are enmeshed; when the 

 whale closes its mouth, the water is forced out but the victims 

 cannot escape from the trap. 



MERMAIDS GLAMOUR GIRLS OF THE SEA 



Fairy tales, cartoons, and sometimes decorative motifs intro- 

 duce most children to the fantastic, lovely ladies known as mer- 

 maids. Many primitive peoples the world over have legends about 



