386 WHALES, SEALS, AND SEA-SERPENTS 



the Mystacoceti, which literally means the " Moustache 

 Whales," but which name, more than two thousand 

 years ago, was already corrupted and punned upon into 

 /xvs TO /ojros, the " Mouse Whale" or " Whale Mouse." 

 There are two families of Whalebone Whales, the 

 Balaenidae and the Balaenopteridse ; the former in- 

 cluding the so-called " Right Whales," and the latter 

 the " Rorquals " or Finners and the " Humpbacked 

 Whale." The chief difference between the two families 

 is one of degree, the whalebone in the former being 

 very long, and in the latter comparatively short. 

 Naturally the mouth in the former is enormous, and the 

 head also huge in proportion ; so that a very different 

 appearance is given to the animal, and its body looks 

 short and small behind its gigantic head. The Right 

 Whales are by no means so large as the largest of the 

 Rorquals, and 45 to 50 feet is a large size for a 

 Greenland Whale. Such a whale has whalebone of 

 ii to 12 feet in length, and whalebone of 13 feet in 

 length is about the largest known, at least nowadays. 

 Owing doubtless to the comparatively short body, the 

 Right Whales have no dorsal fin, while such a fin 

 is always present (though sometimes small) in the 

 longer bodied Rorquals. Lastly, and this is a useful 

 character for the recognition of the diverse kinds at 

 sea, the Rorquals disappear gradually from view, 

 seldom or never diving tail up, while the Right* Whales 

 dive more suddenly, the great head plunging down 

 while the flukes of the tail are tossed upwards. 



Among the Balaenidae many different species of 

 Balaena, or Right Whale, have been described, and 

 naturalists are not yet agreed as to their number or 

 distinctive characters. In the North Atlantic region 

 we have certainly two, Balaena mysticetus, the Green- 

 land Whale, and B. glacialis or biscayensis, the Bis- 



