WHALEBONE WHALES. 
i3 
ribs are very broad and flattened, and are seventeen in number. The whalebone 
of this species is more flexible, more elastic, and tougher than that of any other; 
and if it could be obtained in any quantity would fetch a higher price in the 
market than that of the Greenland whale. 
The Grey Whale. 
Genus Rhachianectes. 
The grey whale of the North Pacific (Rhachianectes glaucus), taking its name 
from the bluish grey colour of its skin, is also the single representative of its 
genus. This species serves as a kind of connecting link between the right-whales 
on the one hand and the humpback and tinners on the other, and is in all prob¬ 
ability a very ancient and generalised type. It agrees with the humpback in the 
absence of a fin on the back and the narrowness of the flippers, but resembles 
the tinners in the relatively small size of the head, the elongated form of the body, 
the shortness and brittle nature of the whalebone, and in the almost complete 
separation of all the vertebrae of the neck. A further approximation to the 
humpback and tinners is made by the presence of a single pair of flutings in 
the skin of the throat, The male attains a length of from 35 to 42 feet, and the 
female from 40 to 44 feet, the length of the flippers being about 64 feet. The 
general colour is a mottled bluish grey, becoming very light in some individuals, 
while in others it is nearly black. The whalebone is relatively shorter than in 
any other species, scarcely exceeding 18 inches in length, and is yellow in colour. 
In the skeleton the ribs are remarkable for their shortness and great width, 
and the consequent narrowness of the spaces between them; while the first two 
are more or less completely united together to form a solid shield of bone. In the 
flippers the joints of the digits are very short and thick, and appear to be less 
numerous than in the tinners. The blubber is solid and tough, with a reddish 
colour, and yields comparatively little oil. 
At the present day the grey whale is confined to the North 
Pacific, and does not range further south than the 20th parallel 
of north latitude. From the evidence of certain bones found in the superficial 
deposits of the British Islands, and described under the name of Eschriclitius, 
it is, however, not improbable that it formerly frequented the Atlantic. 
It is a migratory species, appearing on the coasts of California 
and Oregon for the purpose of breeding from November to May, and 
going northwards for the rest of the year. Captain Scammon says that in its 
regular mierrations from the hot southern latitudes to within the Arctic Circle this 
O O 
whale follows the general trend of an irregular coast so closely that it is exposed to 
attack from the savage tribes inhabiting the seashores, who pass much of their 
time in their canoes, and consider the capture of this singular wanderer a feat 
worthy of the highest distinction. As it approaches the waters of the torrid 
zone, it presents an opportunity to the civilised whalemen to practise their 
different modes of strategy, thus hastening the period of its entire disappearance. 
This species of whale manifests the greatest affection for its young, and seeks the 
Distribution. 
Habits. 
