OF THE UNITED STATES 377 



Balcena mysticetus, Linne. Bowliead Whale. Arctic Seas. 



It will be observed of the species enumerated in this formid- 

 able list, that the vast majority of them actually do occur in our 

 own waters, but this fact obviously prevents me from doing more 

 in the present chapter than giving some of the general characters 

 and habits of cetaceans, with very brief notice of the more inter- 

 esting and important forms. It would require a large volume 

 alone to do full justice to all the species given in the above list. 



So far as geology up to the present time has been enabled to 

 indicate it for us, we are obliged to confess that the ancestry of 

 the Cetacean in past ages is still involved in much obscurity. 

 Huge serpent-like forms (Zenglodon) have been found in the fos- 

 sil state in certain parts of Alabama, which for a long time were 

 considered as being in the cetacean line of descent, but more re- 

 cent investigation seems to point to the fact that the seals have a 

 better claim upon those ancient forms than the whales have. In 

 other parts of the world fossil forms have been discovered which 

 have helped us to a better solution, but, as I say, we are still a 

 long ways from being in possession of an exact knowledge of the 

 origin of this group, as we are in the case of many other ani- 

 mals. One thing, however, must be borne fully in mind, and that 

 is, the Whales are just as truly mammalian in all respects, as are 

 such animals as seals, pigs, or bears. Indeed, they are nothing 

 more nor less than monster marine mammals that have become 

 specially modified in time to lead strictly an aquatic life in recent 

 epochs. 



The general external characters of Whales can be readily ap- 

 preciated from the figures of the species illustrating this 

 chapter; the fish-like form is to be noted, with the enormous 

 head in some of the species, and with the total absence of any- 

 thing like unto a neck in all the forms; the peculiar pattern of 

 the horizontally placed tail with its diverging, lateral " flukes," 

 posteriorly divided by the median notch; the form of the ante- 

 rior paddles, and the entire absence of a hinder pair; that a few 

 of the species may have a showing of scattered hairs on the body, 

 more especially near the mouth; the small eyes, the simple aper- 

 ture of the ears, the valvular openings of the nostrils situated on 

 top of the head; and a number of other points. Whales also 

 possess immediately beneath the skin a thick layer of fat known 

 as the "blubber," from which the oil is manufactured, and for 

 which men hunt and capture them. As in the case of the topo- 



