Translation 2783

APiILY DLLPIIIP:I7)Al^- ^UOL:['IiID}S, l-'ORFOISi;S, ETC
The usual longth of members of this iamily is two or three
Tne tres, and they are seldom as much as seven or eight m'tres. long.
:.'he body has a. well-streâ.m-li.ned form. 'Ale dorsal lin t,if
any) is located abou-6. -tne centre of tho body. The caudal fin has a
conspicuous notch between the flukes, j.here are no -rooves on the
throat.
The blow--hole slit is horse-shoe-shaped, witn the convexity
to the rear, and lies on the top of the head. '.i'he ùpiier and lower
jaws are provided witri a large number of tee-th ^teeth are lacking in
the tipper jaw only in the grey dolphin, or tFiere are not more than
two, as in the nart•rhal). ^'l'ranslator' s Eote: ^j.,iTe -Ûrey d.olphin- is
not mentioned alSain in the text or listed in Appendix 5-)
This family includes animals differing widely in their
characte.'eistics, and therefore mai-,.y attempts have buen made to divide
it into a number of independent families. Up to. the present, however,
agreement on that point has not been r.eached.
'Gem.rs Delphin^.ntex^.^s Lacepi:de, 1 f30zt ^White Whale)
This genus contains only one species.
-White whale or iieluga ^])el^^hinc,nterue leuca.s î:allas, 1776)
.The white whale attains a length of seven metres. The head
is small, rounded in sha,.e, without a beak, with asnort oral opening
and a conspicuous frontal fatty bulge (Fig. 59). ï.t 'is senarated by
a cervical constriction from the elon!;ated trunk, which is large in
the region of the pectora.l girci.:l.e and E;raduall.y tapers towa.rds the
tail. '.t.he caudal section is la.tei•ally com, rtsÛed and ends i1i horizontal
flukes, the spread of which is equal to 25,-., of t,le boay lèneth.
The entire body of the animal is encloscd in "ari:Tour-plate't
-- much-thickened epidermis. TiTere is no dorsal fin, but in its place
thare is :ometirnes a. sraallcut4-cular crest.
inc •broad ïlipL:er.s are
from onc-tontl'1 to one-eigh'th of the bon.y lene'th; ti;. they are of a,
roiinded.--oval
rear ed6;e.
but tiTC: front edge is :Arai^;hter tr.nri Liu ciirved
Its shape changes with the aL(,e of ttTC ^animal.
.C he uA7. per ,jaw contains from 14 to 22 teeth, ana tlle lower jaw
fxom 12 to 22, the total b6iTiL, from 26 to rG0
^ic teet:, oie simple
and }'''f ^l7.}ïe, I1't) cm lon^. ^LYICI 1.a^-'I •^ C:.1 in Û1 ::E?'tCZi but ..:1.^f of ^lclT
-
tootn i.:, :allll•: in t..o alveolu;.;
As the tee111. c,J' l:..c: li^l: c:a• r,.l,u lower