CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPERM WHALE 145 
a habitant of the warm seas of the globe, from the North 
Atlantic, around Cape Horn, to the North Pacific. 
The Sperm Whale has an enormous, square-ended head, 
which constitutes one-third of its entire bulk. Under this 
great mass is the lower jaw of solid bone, shaped like a let- 
ter Y, the stem being fully armed with a double row of huge, 
conical teeth. In comparison with the great bulk of the 
head, the lower jaw seems absurdly small; but it is a formi- 
dable weapon, and whalers dread it. 
In seizing a whale-boat, a man struggling in the water, 
or any other dangerous enemy, a Sperm Whale turns on its 
side or back, like a shark, in order to bring its lower jaw over 
its victim. 
The largest Sperm Whales have measured from 80 to 
84 feet. At birth they are from 11 to 14 feet long. Their 
food consists of fish of various kinds and also squid. A young 
whale, only 20 feet long, which was taken on the coast 
of Cornwall, had in its stomach about 300 mackerel. The 
head of the Sperm Whale yields sperm oil, spermaceti and 
teeth which are valuable for ivory. A substance called 
ambergris, of much value to druggists and perfumers, is 
occasionally found in the intestinal canal. 
Tue Sperm WuaALz Porpoiss, or ““Pyemy Sperm WHALE” 
(Ko’gi-a), is found on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of 
the United States. It is a true pygmy, adult specimens 
being but 15 feet long. They are so rare that their existence 
in the western Atlantic Ocean was not known until 1883, when 
a specimen was washed ashore at Spring Lake, New Jersey, 
and secured by the United States National Museum. 
