I 204 



DELPHIXID.E MAMMALIA DELPHINID.E. 



distressing, that after the third day of their captivity, 

 they were, like the former ones, taken from the water 

 and cut up." Porpoises sometimes herd in very large 

 numbers, and on these occasions commit terrible 

 havoc amongst shoals of herrings, mackerel, salmon, 

 &c. Our conception of their destructive powers is by 

 no means lessened when we consider the number and 

 form of their teeth (fig. 81) ; there being usually from 

 ninety to a hundred of these organs, from twenty to 

 twenty-five occurring on either side of each jaw, above 



Fig. 81. 



Skull of the Porpoise (Phocaena communis). 



and below. They are somewhat flattened in form, their 

 crowns being also more or less knobed. The flesh is 

 esteemed a delicacy by the Greenlanders, and also by 

 the inhabitants of our western isles. In the time of 

 Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, it was considered a royal 

 fish, and appeared to be much relished by the courtiers 

 of then- day. 



THE CAAING WHALE (Globiocephalus deductor). 

 This species is also known as the BOUND-HEADED 

 PORPOISE, BOTTLE-HEAD, SOCIAL WHALE, HOWLING 

 WHALE, BLACK WHALE, and in the catalogue of the 

 British Museum is given as the PILOT WHALE (G. 

 Soineval). As the generic name implies, the upper 

 aspect of the head is globular; the species is fur- 

 ther distinguished by its long pectoral flippers and 

 black skin, the belly and throat being white along the 

 central line. The jaws are seldom furnished with 

 more than fifty teeth. The Caaing Whales herd in 

 large numbers. Mr. Bell states, that an entire shoal 

 of seven hundred and eighty individuals was once 

 captured at Sumburgh in Zetland ; and between the 

 years 1809 and 1810 another shoal came on shore at 

 Hvalfiord hi Iceland, consisting of no less than one 

 thousand one hundred and ten examples, all of which 

 were taken. Their appearance off the coasts of Orkney, 

 Zetland, and the Faroe Isles, is by no means infrequent, 

 and they prove a source of wealth to the inhabitants. 

 " On the appearance of a shoal," says Mr. Bell, " the 

 sailors endeavour to get to seaward of then- victims, 

 and gradually closing upon them, drive them onwards 

 like a flock of sheep, and urge them by shouts and 

 missiles towards the shore ; when one of them, some 

 say a leader, being forced on the beach, a curious 

 scene of self-immolation is acted by the whole herd. 

 They are then attacked by the entire population, who 

 despatch them by various means; and the cries and 

 dying struggles of the poor animals, some in and some 

 out of the water, the shouts and exertions of the men, 

 and the troubled and bloody sea, combine to form a 

 scene of no trifling interest and excitement." Accord- 



ing to Dr. Traill, they blindly follow a single leader, 

 which if driven on shore, guarantees the destruction of 

 the entire herd, as their mutual attachment will not 

 allow them to forsake the first victims. Their favourite 

 food appears to be various species of cuttle-fish, though 

 they also take ordinary fish. They yield excellent oil. 

 THE GRAMPTTS (Grampus orca) is a large, stoutish- 

 built species of whale, measuring upwards of thirty feet 

 in length, and having a girth of fourteen feet, or more 

 The anterior part of the head terminates less abrupt!) 

 than in any of the preceding members of this family, and 

 the animal is further recognized by its pectoral and 

 dorsal fins the former being broad and rounded, the 

 latter long and elevated. It is an inhabitant of the nor- 

 thern seas generally, and very frequently appears upon 

 our coasts. The largest which has been taken on these ' 

 shores is that recorded by Lacepede, from notes com- 

 municated to him by Sir Joseph Banks. In the words 



! of Mr. Bell, this specimen " occurred in the Thames 

 in 1793. Struck by three harpoons, he rushed off 

 with the boat in which were the persons who had 

 struck him, towed it twice to Greenwich, and once as 

 far as Deptford, against a strong tide running eight 

 miles an hour, notwithstanding the repeated pike 

 wounds which he received whenever he appeared 

 above water. It was killed opposite Greenwich Hos- 

 pital, and its expiring straggles were so violent that 

 no boat dared to approach it. It was a very large one, 

 being no less than thirty-one feet in length, and twelve 

 in circumference." A specimen taken in Lynn harbour 

 on the 19th November, 1830, weighed three tons and 

 a hah*. They pretty frequently visit the friths of the 

 Tay and Forth ; a large number appeared in the latter 

 bay during July and August, 1793. The Grampus 

 proves very destructive to salmon. 



THE COMMON DOLPHIN (DelphimisDelpkis) Plate 

 28, fig. 88 seldom exceeds seven or eight feet in length, 

 though individuals have been occasionally found to mea- 

 sure as much as ten feet. It is readily distinguished 

 from the foregoing species by its almost straight back, 

 and by its attenuated, compressed, and prolonged muzzle, 

 which bears some resemblance to a beak. The jaws 

 are of equal length, and furnished with a very numer- 

 ous series of teeth, upwards of a hundred and eighty 

 having been counted in some specimens; their form is 

 slender, and slightly curved inwards, and they interlock 

 during the closed state of the jaw. The Dolphin is an 

 inhabitant of the northern seas and the Atlantic Ocean, 

 occasionally making its appearance off our coasts. It 

 is a remarkably active species ; and, notwithstanding 

 its voracious and gluttonous habits, was formerly highly 

 esteemed for its flesh. Pennant records, on the autho- 

 rity of the celebrated Dr. Caius, that one which was 

 taken in his time was presented to the Duke of Nor- 

 folk, who distributed portions of it amongst his friends. 

 "It was roasted and dressed with porpesse sauce, made 

 of crumbs of fine white bread, mixed with vinegar and 

 sugar." The Common Dolphin feeds principally on 

 fish. 



THE BOTTLE-NOSE DOLPHIN (De.phinus Tursio) 

 is another North Sea species which has occasionally 

 made its appearance on the British shores. Diffi- 



[ culties exist respecting its identification. It is dis- 



