THE GRAMPUS. 
443 
specimen which has already been mentioned there were no less than one hundred and two teeth, 
twenty-six on each side of the upper jaw, and twenty-five on each side of the lower. In these 
animals there is no perceptible distinction between the teeth ; incisors, canines, and molars 
being all alike. 
The head of the Grampus is more rounded than that of the porpoise, and its forehead is 
more convex. There are several species of Delphinidse which are called by the name of Gram- 
pus, the best known of which is the ordinary or common Grampus. 
It is a decidedly large animal, an adult specimen measuring from twenty to thirty feet in 
length, and from ten to twelve in girth. The teeth are not nearly so numerous as in the por- 
poise, being only forty-four in total number, eleven at each side of each jaw. In shape they 
GRAMPUS .— Orca gladiator. 
are somewhat conical, strongly made, and slightly curved. The color of the Grampus is black 
on the upper part of the body, suddenly changing into white on the abdomen and part of the 
sides. There is generally a white patch of considerable size immediately above and rather 
behind the eyelid. 
The name Grampus appears to be a corruption of the French word “ Grand-poisson,” just 
as porpoise is a transmuted form of “ porc-poisson.” 
Although it sometimes wanders into more southern regions, its favored home is in the 
northern seas that wash the coasts of Greenland and Spitzbergen, where it congregates in 
small herds. It is a very wolf in its constant hunger, and commits great havoc among the 
larger fish, such as the cod, the skate, and the halibut, caring little for the smaller fry. 
At times it is said to make systematic attacks on seals, by startling them from their slumber 
as they lie sunning themselves on the rocks or ice, and seizing them as the half-sleeping 
animals plunge instinctively into the sea. Even the smaller porpoises and dolphins fall victims 
to the insatiable appetite of the Grampus, as has been proved by the discovery of their 
remains in the dissected stomach of one of these animals. 
It is said that the Grampuses are fond of amusing themselves by mobbing the Greenland 
whale, just as the little birds mob owls when they venture forth in the daytime, and that they 
persecute it by leaping out of the water and striking it sharply with their tails as they descend. 
In consequence it has been called by the name of Thresher, or Killer. The sword-fish is 
reported to join the Thresher in this amusement, and to prevent the whale from diving by 
