154 



THIRD GENUS. CACHALOT.* 



The general characters which belong to this genus are the great 

 head, but no baleen ; teeth in the lower jaw only , spiracle 

 single ; supplying the spermaceti and ambergris of com- 



THE SPERMACETI WHALE. 

 PLATE VIII. 



Cachalot, Cuvier. Physeter Catadon. Linn Grand Cachalot, 



Bonnat. Cachalot Macrocephalus, Lacepede, Desmaret, &c. 



SOME of our readers may perhaps be surprised that 

 under the generic term Cachalot we introduce to 

 their notice only one species of this variety of whale. 

 This we do, not because we deny the existence of 

 others; far from it, but only because these others 

 have not hitherto been accurately described or esta- 

 blished. Desmaret but a few years ago admitted 

 three sub-genera and seven species ; and Lacepede 

 has three genera and eight species, including his 

 Cachalots, physalus, and physeters. Every one who, 

 previous to our own days, had attempted to reconcile 

 the many contradictory accounts which have been 

 given of this extraordinary animal, seems in his turn 

 * Cachalot from Cachou, a tooth, in the Basque language. 



