THE DOLPHINS. 



The best -known representative of this 

 genus is the Po^>oise (Phoccena communis), 

 fig. 135, very abundant in the northern seas, 



in the ocean generally, in the Black Sea and 

 the Sea of Azof, not so common, however, 

 in the Mediterranean proper. The teeth, 



F ig. I34 ._ The Bottle-nosed Dolphin (Delphinus tursio). 



which are flattened at the sides, sharp, and 

 somewhat expanded at the end, may be as 



many as 100 in number, 25 in each half 

 of each jaw. It attains a length of 6 feet, 



Fig. 135-— The Porpoise (Pkoccena communis). 



i 



is black with a violet-blue shimmer on the 

 back, white on the belly; the fins are black. 

 Its food consists of fish, which it pursues 

 pretty far up rivers, and it is often caught 



in nets in which it has got entangled in the 

 eagerness of its chase. On certain coasts 

 a considerable number of these are caught 

 for the sake of the oil. Its flesh was for- 



