^f OF THE CACHALOT?* 



Section III. 



Gen. III. The Cachalot, 



1 HE fifties of this genus are not of fuch an enormous 

 fize as thofe laft defcribed : They are, when full grown, 

 from fifty to fixty feet long, and Exteen feet in tiiicknefs. 

 Their heads are ilill more difproportioned to the fize of 

 the body, than that of the common whale : in the latter 

 animal it is equal to a third of the body ; in the for- 

 Hier it conftitutes an half. The cachalots are diflinguifh- 

 ed from all the other cetaceous tribes, by having fnarp ar- 

 cuated teeth in the lower jaw : Their bodies being more 

 flender, they are more aftive than the Greetiland whale ; 

 are capable of remaining longer at the bottom j and yield 

 a fmaller quantity of oil. The tongue is commonly 

 fmall, but the mouth and throat are fo capacious that the 

 animal could eafily fwallow an ox*. The teeth are about 

 feven inches long, exceedingly thick and hard ; they en- 

 ter, when the mouth is fhut, into a number of cavities 

 in the upper jaw prepared for their reception f. 



This 



• Goldfmlth's Nat. Hift. 



t Britifh Zool. Clafs iv. Gen. 2, 



