ROSTRATED WHALE. 
399 
Rostrated whale. 
This is by far tlie most elegant in its appear- 
ance of all the whalebone whales. It is rarely 
known to attain the length of twenty- five feet. 
The head* upper part of the back,, fins*. and tail* 
are of a dark or bluish brown ; but the sides and 
abdomen are of a beautiful white* with a very 
slight tinge of pale rose or flesh colour* and are 
marked* for more than half the length of the ani- 
mal* by very numerous longitudinal plaits* or fur- 
rows ; the ears are small* as is also the head* and 
the snout is much more elongated than in any other 
species* gradually tapering to the extremity, which 
is slightly pointed ; the back fin is small and 
situated at no great distance from the tail : the 
pectoral fins are small and narrow ; and the tail is 
divided into two longish and pointed lobes . The 
whole animal has an elegant fish-like form* and 
has none of that uncouth appearance which pre^ 
vails in the larger species. 
CACHALOT TRIBE. 
The fishes of this genus are not of such enor- 
mous size as those last described : they are* when 
full grown* from fifty to sixty feet long* and six- 
teen feet in thickness. Their heads are still more 
disproportioned to the size of the body* than that 
of the common whale : in the latter animal it is 
equal to a third of the body ; in the former it 
constitutes an half. The cachalots are distinguish* 
