WHALE HUNTING WITH GUN AND CAMERA 



holding the whale's food. Upper teeth are also pres- 

 ent but are in a rudimentary condition and, except in 

 rare cases, do not protrude into the sockets; undoubt- 

 edly in ancient times the upper teeth were as well de- 

 veloped as the lower but since they have not been 



"The sperm . . . has from eighteen to twenty-five massive teeth 

 on each side of the lower jaw; these fit into sockets in the 

 upper jaw and assist in holding the whale's food." 



needed they have gradually atrophied and almost dis- 

 appeared. Like the teeth of other animals, those of 

 the sperm whale are hollow in the basal half of their 

 length for the reception of nerves; in young whales 

 this nerve cavity is wide and deep but it almost closes 

 with increasing age. 



228 



