1$2 PESCRIPTION OF A NARWAL. 



In order to give as complete a description s& 

 possible of this curious animal, I shall first advert 

 to its external appearance ; compare these with 

 the account given by M. La Cepede of the Small- 

 headed Narwal ; then take notice of those parts of 

 its internal structure, which my slight acquaint- 

 ance witih anatomy enabled me to investigate ; 

 and lastly, point out those circumstances which 

 seem to distinguish the Common Narwal from ^ 

 the species now under consideration. 



The animal measured only twelve feet from 

 the snout to the notch which divides the tail. 

 It was much smaller, therefore, than those which 

 have been found in other seas. A narwal of the 

 same species, we are informed by La Cepede % 

 was found at Boston, in the month of February 

 1800, which measured above twenty-six feet in 

 length ; and another of the same kind, described 

 by Tulpiusf , was about twenty-two feet long. 

 From these circumstances, it appears exceedingly 

 probable, that the Zetland narwal had not at- 

 tained its full size r but was a young animal. 



The head of this narwal occupied about a 

 seventh part of the total length of the body. In 



* u Histoire Naturelle des Cetacees," 4to, p. 160. 

 \ " Obscrv. Medic." 



