TIN-BACKED MYSTICETE, 491 



and the lips are marked by a number of oblique 

 wrinkles or plaits in such a manner as to resem- 

 ble in some degree the appearance of a large 

 twisted rope. The upper jaw is furnished with 

 laminae of whalebone, on the same plan as in the 

 great whale, but smaller and shorter in proportion, 

 and generally of a blueish colour. The general 

 colour of this species is a dark or blackish olive 

 on the upper parts, and whitish beneath. Mar- 

 tens compares the colour to that of a Tench. On 

 the lower part of the back is situated a small 

 thick or fatty fin, of about three or four feet in 

 length, and of a somewhat sharpened form. This 

 animal swims with greater celerity and vigour 

 than the great whale, and is considered as much 

 more dangerous to attack, exerting such rapid 

 and violent motions as to render the capture ex- 

 tremely difficult, and as the oil which it afford* 

 is much less plentiful than in the former species, 

 it is of course less an object of pursuit. It is 

 known to the fishers by the title of Fin-Fish, 

 being easily distinguished by its back fin, as well 

 as by its much more violent blowing and spout- 

 ino-. It inhabits the same seas with the s^reat or 

 common Whale. 



