Ng THE PORPESSE. 



the dolphin : It is f urniflied with very ftrong miifcles,' which 

 enable the fifli more readily to turn up the fand ; for by 

 this means the porpeffe, as well as the fwine, procures a 

 great part of its food. Wheri prey fails at the furface, 

 it dives to the bottom in fearch of fea worms, and fand 

 eels which it digs up there. 



The porpeffe is diftinguiflied from the dolphin,- by the 

 fuperior thicknefs of the head, as well as the lliortnefs of 

 the nofe : It is commonly of fmaller fize ; the body grofs 

 and fat towards the head, but tapering away in the form 

 of a cone, till it becomes flender at the tail *. The co- 

 lour of the back is generally black, and the belly white : 

 This, however, is not an uniform character ; for in the 

 river of St. Lawrence there is a white porpeffe; and there 

 is in the Brit'i/Ij channel a fmall fpecies called thorn -backs, 

 that are various, fometimes brown, white and fpottedf. 



Both jaws of the porpeffe, r.s well as thofe of the dolphin, 

 are provided with teeth ;- but in the former they zxe mucli 

 more numerous, and of a fmaller fize than in the latter 

 animal. They are forty-eight in all, moveable, and fo 

 {ituated as to lock into each other. The eyes are fmall, 

 refembling thofe of the human fpecies, both in iize and in 

 the diftribution of their humours %• It has no branchiae, 

 nor any aperture in their place ; the fpout-hole is upon 

 the crown of the hend, of a iemihinar fliape, and di- 

 vided internally by a cartilaginous membrane, which 

 appears at the fummit of the head like the comb of a 

 cock. 



Towards the nofe of this animal there have been ob- 



ferved 



• WiUough. Hift. Plfc. page aS. 

 t EritiQi Zool. clafs iv. gen. 3. 

 \ Dan. Major apud WiUough. 



