Aquatic Mammals 233 



Many a fish story has weathered the 

 cold incredulity of the scientist and the 

 jeers of the man in the street. The 

 biggest of all big fish stories the story 

 of Jonah is still, however, a matter 

 for serious controversy. Although the 

 acrimonious prophet's remarkable ex- 

 perience is usually treated as a myth, 

 many are content to accept it as it 

 stands, regarding the performance as a 

 miracle enacted under divine interposition. 



Mr. Ambrose John Wilson, of Queen's 

 College, Oxford, is the latest to champion 

 the veracity of the ancient narrative, and 

 in a contribution to the Princeton Theo- 

 logical Review, attempts to prove its 

 truth by subjecting it to scientific and 

 historical tests. Mr. Wilson points out 

 that the " fish " in question would be 

 the Sperm Whale or Cachalot, a species 

 measuring up to eighty feet and inhabit- 

 ing the waters where Jonah was a 

 voyager. He compares the interior of 



