THE SPERM-WHALE FAMILY. 



fat, which is of excellent quality, and is largely 

 used for mixing with spermaceti. 



The Sperm-whale or Cachalot {Physeter 

 macrocephalns), fig. 141, owes its Latin specific 

 name (derived from two Greek words meaning 



'3 



long-headed) to the monstrous size of its 

 head, which makes up about a third of the 

 whole length of the body, in old males ac- 

 cordingly upwards of 30 feet in length. Along 

 with the right whales and rorquals the sperm- 



Fig. 141.— The Sperm-whale [Physeiermacrocephalus). 



whales are the most gigantic members of the 

 fauna of the present world. The weight of 

 an adult animal is estimated at about 200 

 tons. In a male of only 66 feet in length 

 the short, broad, thick flipper was found to 

 measure only 5 feet 3 inches, while the two- 

 lobed tail fin had a breadth of nearly 20 feet. 

 The form of this inhabitant of the deep in 

 temperate and warm seas is in the highest 

 degree remarkable. The enormous quad- 

 rangular head, so abrupt in front, carries on 

 the upper edge of the anterior surface the 

 S-shaped blow-holes, the canal from which 

 leads obliquely backwards to the bony nasal 

 cavities, which, as usual, are situated on the 

 crown of the skull. The opening of the 

 mouth is very long, but narrow like a furrow, 



and the two halves of the beak-like lower 

 jaw are united in front for half their length. 

 The eye is situated behind the angle of the 

 mouth, and immediately behind it again comes 

 the flipper. The top of the back is con- 

 tinued almost in a straight line from the 

 upper part of the head. A long thick fold 

 of the skin of little height forms a rudimen- 

 tary dorsal fin. The belly is enormous, the 

 body becomes very much thinner towards the 

 large tail. 



If we examine the skeleton we have at first 

 some trouble in bringing it into correspond- 

 ence with the form of the living animal. The 

 skull in fact rises up behind like a wall some- 

 what as in other cetaceans, and more especially 

 in the bottle-nosed whale. The jaws are 



