DOLPHINS 399 



while in the air. The other Ziphioids (Mesoplodon, 

 Berardius, and Ziphius) are all more or less rare forms 

 which have been found in various parts of the world, 

 but in such small numbers that the number and 

 character of the species are still in dispute. Meso- 

 plodon and Ziphius have both occurred on our own 

 coasts, and it appears to be a common or general rule 

 that when an individual comes ashore, its mate will 

 before very long be found stranded in the near neigh- 

 bourhood. 



There remains the family of the Delphinidae, or Dol- 

 phins, which includes a number of very diverse forms. 

 The largest is the Great Killer Whale, or Grampus 

 (Orca gladiator), an animal reaching some 30 feet long. 

 This whale is easily recognized by its high curved dorsal 

 fin. It has in each jaw ten or twelve powerful teeth. 

 Its body is conspicuously marked with white or 

 yellowish bands. It is a fierce, predaceous creature, 

 attacking seals, porpoises, and the like, and even 

 sometimes the larger whales. Eschricht says that 

 thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals were taken from 

 the stomach of a single individual. Three species of 

 the' dolphin family are hunted by man. The first of 

 these is the so-called " Ca'ing Whale " (Globiocephalus 

 melas) ; this whale is not large or valuable enough for 

 an extended commerce, but is of great value to the 

 inhabitants of Orkney and the Faeroe Islands, where 

 herds coming inshore in the summer months are sur- 

 rounded by all the boats of the neighbourhood, and 

 driven with shouts and splashings to the beach. This 

 whale, like the Sperm Whale, is a feeder upon cuttle- 

 fish. 



Next we have the White Whale, or Beluga (Delphin- 

 apterus leucas). This is a northern species, especially 

 abundant off the coasts of Labrador and Canada ; it 



