TOOTHED WHALES. 
3i 
Habits. 
teeth, more especially in the males, sometimes attaining very large dimensions. 
The muzzle is produced into a longer or shorter beak or rostrum, behind which there 
is a marked and sudden elevation caused by the presence of a fatty cushion on the 
top of the head in front of the blowhole; the latter having a crescent-like form, 
and being situated in the middle line. With the exception of one species, the 
whales of this group are characterised by the (premaxillary) bones situated in the 
skull behind the opening of the nostrils being raised into a pair of crests over¬ 
hanging the latter; these two crests, as shown in the accompanying figure, being 
unsymmetrically disposed, and one larger than the other. All the members 
of the group agree in having a curved back-fin, placed considerably behind the 
middle of the body; and they also display the common feature of j) 0 ssessing 
flutings in the skin of the throat, which are close together in front and diverge as 
they pass backwards. 
Like the sperm-whales, the members of this group are inhabitants 
of the open sea, and feed almost entirely upon squids and cuttles. 
Except the bottlenose, most of them are known mainly by stranded specimens; and 
when any of these whales approach the shore, they seem to have no idea of saving 
themselves, but are almost invariably stranded. In this respect they resemble the 
sperm-whales; and it would thus seem that whales accustomed to live in the open 
seas and to seek their food at considerable depths, become confused and help¬ 
less when they reach the neighbourhood of a coast. Most of them go about 
in pairs or alone; but the bottlenose frequently associates in schools of 
considerable size. 
Characters of The bottlenose derives its name from the elevation of the upper 
Bottlenose. surface of the head above the rather short beak and in front of the 
blowhole into a rounded abrupt prominence. The lower jaw has merely a pair of 
small conical teeth at the extremity, which in the living state are totally concealed 
by the gum. In the skull the crests behind the aperture of the nostrils are greatly 
developed; and in addition to these there are a pair of longitudinal bony crests lying 
on either s-ide of the base of the beak, which in old males becomes of great size, 
with their front surfaces broad and flat. This excessive development of the crests 
in the adult males produces a great difference in the appearance of the two sexes 
when adult; the females (like the young) having the beak distinctly projecting, 
whereas in the males it is almost buried beneath the elevated and flattened surface 
of the upper part of the head, which has a disc-like form when seen from in front. 
The flukes are not notched. In length the male bottlenose may reach as much as 
30 feet, but the female does not exceed 24 feet. The young individuals are black 
above, but with advancing age they gradually pass to a light brown tint; the 
under-parts being greyish white. Very old individuals turn almost yellow, with a 
white band round the neck, and the front of the head and beak also white. 
Distribution and The bottlenose is a migratory species, confined to the North 
Habits. Atlantic. During the summer it ranges as far northwards as Spitz- 
bergen, but how far southward it travels in winter is not yet ascertained. In the 
early autumn some specimens are usually stranded on the coasts of Britain, and 
the countries bordering the British Channel and North Sea; but none are recorded 
from the shores of Spain, Western France, or the Mediterranean countries. The 
