WHALEBONE WHALES. 
9 
Greenland Whale. 
The Greenland whale (Balcena mysticetus ) is a northern species, 
characterised by the enormous size of the head, which often exceeds 
one-third the entire length of the animal, by the high arching of the mouth, and 
the great number and length of the baleen plates. The latter in the middle region 
attain a length of 10 or even 12 feet, and their total number may exceed 380 on 
each side of the jaw. In order to afford room for such enormous structures, 
the narrow upper jaw is greatly arched from before backwards, while the two 
branches of the lower jaw are widely separated behind, and curve much outwards 
in the middle of their course. 
The manner in wdiich the plates of baleen perform their function has been 
explained by Captain D. Gray. When the mouth of the animal is closed, the 
slender extremities of the baleen curve backwards in the direction of the throat, 
the longer ones in the middle of the jaw occupying the hollow formed by the 
shorter ones behind. When the jaws are opened for feeding, the baleen by its own 
elasticity springs downwards and forwards, and thus fills up the whole space 
between the two jaws, irrespective of their degree of separation. An effectual 
strainer is thus interposed between the sides of the cavity of the mouth and the 
external water, which prevents the food swallowed from escaping, while the water 
taken in at the same time has full means of escape upon the closure of the mouth. 
The tongue is of very large size, and fills up the cavity between the two series of 
baleen plates when the mouth is shut; and the stranded prey left upon its surface 
after the completion of the straining process is swallowed at leisure. The large 
lower lip, rising up at the sides above the extremities of the baleen, prevents them 
from being borne outwards by the rush of water as the mouth is closing. 
The general colour of the Greenland whale is black, but there is frequently 
more or less white about the throat, flippers, and in front of the flukes, while some 
individuals are pied all over. A rough prominence at the extremity of the muzzle, 
known as the “ bonnet,” is frequently present. In some individuals, at least, the 
tail is more constricted in advance of the flukes than is the case in our figure, 
while the flukes themselves are wider. 
The Greenland whale attains usually a length of about 50 feet, but specimens 
have been recorded exceeding 60 feet, and it is probable that when the species was 
more numerous its average size was greater. These whales usually yield about 
130 barrels of oil, but specimens were formerly killed from which as much as from 
200 to 280 barrels has been obtained. The product of baleen may vary from 1000 
to over 3000 lbs. The price of this commodity in 1881 was as much as £1100 per 
ton, but in ten years it had risen to upwards of £2800 for the best quality, the 
average price being then about £2520 per ton. 
If we follow Sir W. H. Flower in regarding the so-called bow- 
head whale of Behring Strait and the Okhotsk Sea as not specifically 
distinct, the range of the Greenland whale will be circumpolar. In the North 
Atlantic the southern limits of this species may be approximately indicated by a 
line drawn from the coast of Lapland, in latitude 70°, to the southern point of 
Iceland, and thence to the coast of Labrador, in latitude 55°. In Behring Sea it is 
but seldom seen south of latitude 55°, while in the Sea of Okhotsk it ranges about 
1° further south. With regard to the northern limits of this whale, there is some 
Distribution. 
