714 Marvels of the Universe 
may serve to hold its prey, 
which consists almost entirely 
of squids and cuttlefish—some 
of enormous size. That this 
is so is rather surprising, for 
cuttlefish are agile creatures, 
and have a trick of covering 
their retreat by squirting out 
an inky fluid. Somehow the 
Sperm Whale seems to have 
broken down this means of 
defence. We cannot tell what 
takes place in the mysterious 
depths which form the hunting- 
ground of the Sperm Whale, 
but we must assume that these 
cuttlefish and squids swim in 
great shoals, and that somehow 
the Whale must have devised 
a means of approaching such 
shoals without revealing his 
near presence. From the 
Photo bu] [il J. Shepstone. bodies of his victims the Sperm 
THE SKELETON ; v. : 3 ng : 
Ped E Te ees Whale distils the precious 
The Naosaur was not much larger than a large dog. Notice that from the F 
abnormal spines were also developed small spines at right angles to the main shaft, ‘ambergris,”’ which is expelled 
for what reason it is impossible to conjecture. from the intestines in the form 
of a solid, nearly black mass composed largely of the horny beaks of squids and cuttles. This 
precious matter is largely employed in perfumery, and commands a high price, commonly as much 
as ninety shillings per ounce. 
It seems incredible that bodies so huge should be nourished on food so unsubstantial, for it must 
centain a large percentage of water; but fact is stranger than fiction. 
NAOSAUR—THE RECORD BREAKER 
BY W. P. PYCRAFT, F.Z.S. 
A MORE extraordinary creature than the Naosaur has never lived. A glance at its skeleton will 
suffice to make this much certain; it looks more like an ingenious human “‘ fake’ than a piece of 
Nature’s handiwork. Nevertheless, there is no getting away from the fact that the Naosaur was 
once very much alive, and that the remains which have been so skilfully pieced together were made 
in Nature’s workshop. Naosaur was a reptile, not by any means a large one as ancient reptiles 
go, but of about the size of a large dog; and it throve a few million years or so ago—during the 
period known as the Permian. But it must have been fairly numerous, and must certainly have 
existed over an immense period of time, for its remains are found scattered half over the world, 
since they have been recovered from rocks in Bohemia and in France, as well as in Texas, U.S.A., 
from whence the finest specimens have been obtained. Its nearest living relation is the strange 
Tuatera, or Sphenodon, of New Zealand. 
The most remarkable feature of this most remarkable animal is the enormous growth of the 
spines which project from the vertebre of the back. In some living animals to-day, as in the 
Bison, these are of great length ; but never before or since in the world’s history have spines been 
