WHALE ROOM. 59 



large animals to fvill advantage. It is also intersected by 

 columns, which interfere with the complete view of the larger 

 specimens. 



As it is almost impracticable to preserve the skins of the 

 larger species of Whales, owing to the oil with which they 

 are saturated, the exhibition of the characters of these animals is 

 carried out by means of their skeletons and artificial models of 

 one side of the external form. Stuffed specimens of many of 

 the smaller kinds, are, however, shown. A general account of 

 the structure and classification of the Cetacea, with special 

 reference to those exhibited in this gallery, will be found in the 

 Guide to the Mammal Galleries.* 



On the left side of the entrance is a case containing a stuffed Fresh-water 

 specimen, a skeleton, and several skulls of the Susu, or Fresh- ° ^ 

 water Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) of the rivers of India, 

 and also of the Dolphins of the Eio de la Plata (Pontoporia 

 hlainvillei) and of the Eiver Amazon (Inia geoffroyensis). Among 

 the specimens fronting the visitor as he enters the room, one of 

 the most interesting, on account of its remarkable dentition, 

 is the Narwhal, or Sea-Unicorn. It has only two teeth, which Narwhal, 

 lie horizontally in the upper jaw. In the female both remain 

 permanently concealed within the bone of the jaw, so that this 

 sex is practically toothless ; but in the male, while the right 

 tooth remains similarly concealed and rudimentary (as shown 

 in the specimen, by removal of part of the bone which covered 

 it), the left is immensely developed, attaining a length equal to 

 that of half the entire animal, and projecting horizontally from 

 the head in the form of a long, straight, tapering and pointed 

 tusk, spirally grooved on the surface. In rare cases both teeth 

 are fully developed, as in the fine skull exhibited near the 

 skeleton, and it is noticeable that in such specimens the direc- 

 tion of the spiral is the same in both tusks. 



To the right of the entrance is placed a specimen of the 

 bony framework of one of the most colossal of animals, 

 the Cachalot, or Sperm-Whale (Physeter macrocephalus), pre- Sperm-vsrhale. 

 pared from an old male cast ashore near Thurso, on the north 

 coast of Scotland, in July, 1863, on the estate of Capt. D. 



* " Guide to the Galleries of Mammals in the Department of Zoology." 

 Price sixpence. 



