CHAPTER VIII. 

 THE SPERM WHALE. 



Physeter jLvcKOCEPHiVLUs, Linn. (Plate xiv.l 



This, the largest of the toothed Cetaceans, is known to English and American 

 whalemen as the Sperm Whale, to the Germans as the Pottfisch, and to the French 

 as the Cachalot. It widely differs from all others of its order, both in figure and 

 habits. The fully matured animal equals, if it does not exceed, the Bowhead, or 

 Great Polar Whale, in magnitude and in commercial value. The adult female, how- 

 ever, is only about one -third or one -fourth the size of tlie largest male. She is 

 likewise more slender in form, and has an effeminate appeai'ance. The time of gesta- 

 tion is supposed to be ten months, and she seldom produces more than one young at 

 a birth — never more than two — and tliese are brought forth at anj^ time or place 

 that nature may demand. The new-born cub is about one -fourth the length of the 

 mother. It obtains its nourishment from two teats, situated one on each side of the 

 vaginal opening. In giving suck, it is said the female reclines on her side, when 

 the calf seizes the teat in the corner of its mouth, thereby giving the milk -food 

 immediate passage to its throat. The length of time that the young follow the 

 dam is not known. 



The largest males measure from eighty to eighty -four feet. The ponderous head 

 is nearly one -third of the whole bulk of the animal, and over one quarter of its 

 length. The opening of the mouth is about five -sixths the length of the head; the 

 lower jaw, from the expansion of the condyles, contracts abruptly to a narrow sym- 

 physis, and is studded on each side with twenty -two or twenty -four strong, sharp, 

 and conical teeth, fitting to the furrow, or cavity, in the upper jaw, Avhich is desti- 

 tute of, or contains only rudimentary teeth. The tongue, Avhich is usually of a 

 whitish color, "is not capable of much protrusion." The throat, however, is large, 

 and is said to bo capacious enough to receive the body of a man. The eyes are 

 placed a little above and behind the angle of the mouth. A few inches behind 

 the eyes are the openings of the ears, which are not over one -fourth of an inch in 



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