THE RIGHT WHALES THE RORQUALS 143 



THE RIGHT WHALES 



THE great Right Whales (Balcenidce), which have no back-fin and 

 possess the longest whalebone, are those which have been most ardently 

 pursued by Whalers, especially as they are neither swift nor fierce, 

 and so not so very hard to kill. There are only two species, the 

 celebrated Greenland Whale (Balcena mysticetus), a purely Arctic animal, 

 which is white on the lower jaw and at the base of the tail, and has the 

 longest whalebone of any ; and the Biscay Right Whale (B. australis), 

 widely spread over the world's seas, which is all black, with smaller 

 head and shorter "bone." Both of these, beginning with the last, 

 have been so mercilessly hunted that it hardly pays to trouble about 

 going after them nowadays. The Biscay Whale has occasionally 

 been found on our coasts, but the other apparently never, though it 

 is much more familiar by name, owing to the extensive use formerly 

 made of its whalebone. 



Both of these Whales measure about twenty yards; but there is 

 also a Dwarf Right Whale (Neobalcena marginafa), which only 

 measures about as many feet ; it has long whalebone, but also a small 

 back-fin, and is a rare animal, only known from Australasian waters. 



THE RORQUALS 



MOST of the Whalebone Whales belong to the family Balcenopteridce, 

 and of these the Rorquals or Finners (Balcenopterd) are by far the 

 best known, all of the four kinds, which seem to be spread over all 

 seas, occurring more or less frequently on our own coasts. 



Finners, as their name implies, have a back-fin, which is small 

 and set far back, much nearer to the tail than to the snout. Their 

 shape is long and narrow, and their throats are pleated or thrown 

 into many folds, and will expand like a Pelican's pouch. Their 

 whalebone is short and coarse, and, from their great speed and the 

 fierce temper they sometimes display, they used to be thought too 

 dangerous and unprofitable to be worth hunting ; now, however, what 

 with the scarcity of better Whales, and the facilities afforded by steam- 

 whalers and harpoon-guns, &c., they are successfully attacked and 

 made to contribute their quota to the world's needs. 



