Pigmy Sperm Whale 
Description. Head oblong, level with the back on top and square 
and truncate in front, forming nearly one-third of the total 
length of the animal; lower jaw shallow and very narrow in 
front, armed with 22 to 24 large teeth on each side. Back 
with a hump on the neck and several humps farther back, but 
no dorsal fin. Colour black or blackish brown, lighter below, 
sometimes marbled. 
Range. Tropical and subtropical oceans, now very rare in the North 
Atlantic. 
The sperm whale or Cachalot is the largest of the toothed 
cetaceans, and in its great bulk recalls the whalebone whales, 
though the peculiar truncated head. and narrow, shallow lower 
jaw, with its formidable array of teeth, serve easily to distinguish 
it. The nostrils of the sperm whale open at the extreme front 
of the head instead of farther back, as in the whalebone whales, 
and its ‘‘spout” issues diagonally forward instead of vertically up- 
ward. This peculiarity enables whalers to identify the sperm 
whale at very great distances. 
This animal seems to feed at great depths and is able to 
remain under water longer than any other species—sometimes for 
over an hour at a time, according to Captain Scammon. When 
at the surface it respires thirty to sixty times at short intervals 
with great regularity and then, ‘‘pitching head-foremost down- 
ward, turns his flukes high in the air and when gaining nearly 
a perpendicular attitude descends to a great depth.” 
The food of the sperm whale consists of various ‘‘squids”’ 
or cuttlefish. The ‘‘ambergris” discharged from its intestines is 
a valued article of perfume. 
Pigmy Sperm Whale 
Kogia breviceps (Blainville) 
Length. 10-15 feet. 
Description. \n a general way much like the preceding, but differs 
in its small size, slender curved teeth, and in the presence 
of a fin on the back. 
Range. North Atlantic and other oceans. Several specimens have 
been taken on our shores of late years, although it is a rare 
animal. 

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