THE NARHWAL 



r (Moiiodon monoceros). 



The Sea-Unicorn, as the Narhwal is often appropriately .called, is one 

 of the most remarkable -beasts in the world, and- quite unique in its 

 dental arrangements. It "has only two teeth in its head, arid in the 

 case of the female neither is of any use, as -they .remain short and 

 embedded in the gum. In the male the left tooth grows into the 

 long tusk — often miscalled a horn — which in length about equals half 

 that of the animal's body. The right tooth generally remains aborted, 

 as in the female, but in very rare cases both grow into- long tusks, 

 as may be seen by a skull in the South Kensington Museum. In 

 one case also a female with a well-developed tusk, though: not so long 

 as in a male, has been - recorded, no doubt an analogous case to the 

 occasional ; development of horns in female Deer. ; - - i'- ?ie :i 



, The tusk is hollow for a great part of its length, and x the spiral 

 grooving of the surface is purely superficial, and does not indicate a 

 twisted structure. •" In length this huge tooth may measure, as much 

 as seven feet, the beast itself being about fourteen. The newly-born 

 Narhwal has" a few irregular rudimentary teeth, which soon disappear; 

 in colour it is much' darker than the adult, for this creature gradually 

 whitens' with' age, and old ones are more white than ^rey. 



The" Narhwal is a purely and characteristically- Arctic animal, found 

 all round the world in the vicinity of the eternal ice ; it very rarely 

 leaves the Polar regions, and only three specimens have ever reached 

 our coasts. ; In its native haunts it has been observed to be a swift 

 swimmer, and of a sociable and playful disposition, males often indulg- 

 ing in fencing-bouts : with their tusks; no doubt they also engage in 

 serious combats for the females, since the most obvious ? purpose of 

 the tusk is to serve as a weapon. It certainly -appears not to be £ used 

 to procure the food, which consists mostly of Cuttle-fish and, among 



