THE GRAMPUS. 



443 



specimen which has already been mentioned there were no less than one hundred and two teeth, 

 twenty-six on each side of the upper jaw, and twenty -five on each side of the lower. In these 

 animals there is no perceptible distinction between the teeth ; incisors, canines, and molars 

 being all alike. 



The head of the Grampus is more rounded than that of the porpoise, and its forehead is 

 more convex. There are several species of Delphinidae which are called by the name of Gram- 

 pus, the best known of which is the ordinary or common Grampus. 



It is a decidedly large animal, an adult specimen measuring from twenty to thirty feet in 

 length, and from ten to twelve in girth. The teeth are not nearly so numerous as in the por- 

 poise, being only forty-four in total number, eleven at each side of each jaw. In shape they 



GEAMPUS.— Orca gladiator. 



are somewhat conical, strongly made, and slightly curved. The color of the Grampus is black 

 on the upper part of the body, suddenly changing into white on the abdomen and part of the 

 sides. There is generally a white patch of considerable size immediately above and rather 

 behind the eyelid. 



The name Grampus appears to be a corruption of the French word " Grand-poisson," just 

 as rjorpoise is a transmuted form of " porc-poisson." 



Although it sometimes wanders into more southern regions, its favored home is in the 

 northern seas that wash the coasts of Greenland and Spitsbergen, where it congregates in 

 small herds. It is a very wolf in its constant hunger, and commits great havoc among the 

 larger fish, such as the cod, the skate, and the halibut, caring little for the smaller fry. 

 At times it is said to make systematic attacks on seals, by startling them from their slumber 

 as they lie sunning themselves on the rocks or ice, and seizing them as the half-sleeping 

 animals plunge instinctively into the sea. Even the smaller porpoises and dolphins fall victims 

 to the insatiable appetite of the Grampus, as has been proved by the discovery of their 

 remains in the dissected stomach of one of these animals. 



It is said that the Grampuses are fond of amusing themselves by mobbing the Greenland 

 whale, just as the little birds mob owls when they ventnre forth in the daytime, and that they 

 persecute it by leaping out of the water and striking it sharply with their tails as they descend. 

 In consequence it has been called by the name of Thresher, or Killer. The sword-fish is 

 reported to join the Thresher in this amusement, and to prevent the whale from diving by 



