462 



MANUAL OF ELEMENTARY ZOOLOGY 



the blubber, under the skin. The fore-limbs are replaced 

 by paddles, in which, however, the bones of the arm and 

 hand can be made out, there are no hind-limbs, the tail 

 bears a pair of fleshy flukes at the sides (not above and 

 below like those of a fish), and in some cases there is a 

 fleshy dorsal fin. The openings of the ears are relatively 

 minute and have no flaps, the eyes 

 are small, and the nostrils are placed 

 at the top of the head. This is in 

 connection with an arrangement by 

 which the end of the soft palate can 

 clasp the epiglottis and form a com- 

 plete tube from the nostrils to the 

 lungs, so that the animals can feed 

 and breathe at the same time. Thus 

 whales breathe air like all mammals, 

 not water like fish. The so-called 

 spouting of whales is not the driving 

 out of water used in breathing, but 

 partly the getting rid of a little water 

 which has entered the nostrils and 

 mainly the condensation of steam in 

 the breath. Some whales, such as the 

 Sperm Whale, have teeth, which are 

 Fig- 337- — The left numerous, simple, and all alike. 



» b a° f wtat 0therS are t00thleSS and P r0vided 



bone whale. —From w ' tn strainers of the horny substance 



Thomson. known as " whalebone," by which they 



Sc, Scapula with spine obtain for food the countless small 



(Sji.); jr., humerus; creatures which swarm in the surface 



R., radius ; U.. ulna ; r , 



C, carpals embedded Waters Ot the Sea. 



carpalsT ; ph.'' phS : 9 ther aberrant groups of Mammalia, 



anges. ' which can only be mentioned here, 



are the Sea Cows or Sirenia, aquatic 



animals which feed on water plants, and an assemblage of 



curious creatures known as Edentata because 



croups of the ' r teeth are defect ' ve or wanting, comprising 



Eutheria. the Sloths, Armadillos, and Ant-eaters. The 



rest of the Eutheria fall into three great 



series : the Hoofed Mammals or Ungulata, which are 



herbivorous; the Nailed Mammals or Primates, which in 



