46 
WHALE EOOM. 
To the right of the entrance 
is placed a specimen of the 
bony framework of one of 
the most colossal of animals, 
Sperm-whale, the Cachalot, or Sperm-Whale 
{Physeter macrocephalus), pre- 
pared from an animal cast 
ashore near Thurso, on the 
north coast of Scotland, in July, 
1863, on the estate of Capt. D, 
Macdonald, E.E., by whom it 
was presented to the Museum. 
Upon the side of this skeleton 
has been built up the model of 
the external form of the animal. 
The Sperm-Whale is the prin- 
cipal source of supply of the 
sperm - oil and spermaceti of 
commerce. The former is ob- 
tained by boiling the fat or 
blubber lying beneath the skin 
over the whole body ; the 
latter, in a liquid state at 
the ordinary temperature of 
the living animal, is contained 
in cells which fill the immense 
cavity on the top of the skull. 
This Whale, which feeds chiefly 
on Cephalopods (squid and 
cuttlefish), as well as fish, is 
widely distributed throughout 
the warm and temperate regions 
of Ijoth Atlantic and Pacific 
Oceans. The skeleton is that 
of a full - grown animal, and 
measures fifty feet one inch in 
length, although wanting three 
of the vertebrae from the end 
of the tail. 
