146 THE OCEAN 



important the abundance of small surface-life 

 proves to these great creatures. There is, 

 however, another group of whales which have 

 absolutely different habits and to whom the 

 absence or presence of swarming tiny crea- 

 tures in the water makes no difference. These 

 are the Sperm Whales and they inhabit the 

 warm and temperate seas. While nature pro- 

 vided their cousins, the Right Whales, with 

 the remarkable whalebone and left them with- 

 out teeth, she gave the Sperm Whales a set 

 of splendid sharp-pointed, ivory teeth, with no 

 whalebone. The reason for this great differ- 

 ence between the Right and the Sperm Whales 

 is readily understood when we know their 

 habits, for the active, sharp-toothed Sperm 

 Whales feed upon large marine creatures and 

 dive to great depths in search of their prey. 

 The favourite food of Sperm Whales is the 

 giant squids I have mentioned in another 

 chapter, and many species of these deep-sea 

 devil-fishes have been described from frag- 

 ments of their anatomy found in the stomachs 

 of Sperm Whales. 

 While whales are the largest of all ani- 



