History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

38 MAMMALIA. CETACEA. Physeter.form. The mouth is pointed before, and the upper lip projects a little beyondthe under. Eye on a cross line with the blow-hole. It has one longtooth, projecting from the left side of the upper jaw (or intermaxillary bone)through the lip hollow within and ; spirally twisted. Instances have occurredof two teeth, but the right one seldom appears. For some remarks onthe mode of dentition of this animal and of the porpoise, see Phil. Zool. v. ii.208-210. These tusks are sometimes 10 feet in length, and, according to MrScoresby, are peculiar to the males. The cervical vertebrae are 7, the dorsal12, and the lumbar and caudal 35 in number. Ribs 6 true, and G false oneach side. Live on fish and sepiae, and usually keep in a herd of about a dozen.The following dimensions of a full grown male narwal are given by MrScoresby: " Length, exclusive of the tusk, 15 feet ; from the snout to theeyes 1 foot 14 inch— to the fins 3 feet 1 inch— to the back-ridge 6 feet tothe vent 9 feet 9 inches. Circumference— 44 inches from the snout, 3 feet5 inches ; at the eyes and blowhole, 5 feet 34 inches ; just before the fins 7feet 5 inches ; at the forepart of back-ridge, 8 feet 5 inches ; at the vent 5feet 8 inches. Tusk, length externally 5 feet 4 inch ; its diameter at the base24 inches. Length of the blow-hole 14 inch, and breadth 34 inches. Tail 14inches long, and 3 feet 14 inch broad. Fins 13 inches long, and 1\ inchesbroad." The tooth is characteristic of the male. Instances, however, occur,though seldom, in which the female has a tooth. One is mentioned in Linn.Trans, xiii. 620. " : The sex of this animal was satisfactorily ascertained incutting up, when two foetuses were taken out of it."B. Blow-hole single, being destitute of the bony septum.Teeth in the lower jaw, with cavities in the upperJbrtheir reception.Gen. XXXVI. PHYSETER, (Artedi). Finner.—Furnishedwith an elevated dorsal fin.51. P. Tursio.— Summits of the teeth flat.De Balaena macrocephala tripinni, quae in mandibula inferiore denteshabet minus inflexos et in planum desinentes, Sibb. Phal. p. 43. a toothtab. ii— Physeter pinna dorsi altissima, apice dentium piano, Artedi,Gen. p. 74—Ph. Tur. Linn. Syst. 1. p. 107— High-finned Cachalot,Penn. Brit. Zool. hi. p. 64—On the Scottish coast, rare.In the example mentioned by Sibbald, a female, whicli came ashore inOrkney in 1687, the head was 8 or 9 feet in height; the blow-hole in front;the tusks were but little bent, and nearly solid externally, or with only a lateralslit or a small cavity. Some of the teeth were 4 inches long. The dorsalfin was erect, like a mizen-mast. It yielded good spermaceti.58. P. microps. Spermaceti Whale.— Teeth bent, withacute summits.De Balaena macrocephala, qua? tertiam in dorso pinnam sive spinam habet,et dentes in maxilla inferiore arcuatos falciformes, Sibb. Phal. p. 33.tab. i—Ph. maxilla superiore longiore, spina longa in dorso, Artedi,Gen. p. 74—P. microps, Linn. Syst. i. p. 107 Fab. Faun. Gr. p. 44.—Great-headed Cachalot, Low's Orkney, p.160.—On the Scottishcoast, frequent.A male of this species was found at Limekilns in the Forth in February1689, and described by Sibbald. It was 52 feet long. The upper jaw projected24 feet beyond the lower. Lower jaw 10 feet long, and narrower thanthe upper towards the extremity. From the snout to the eyes 12 feet. In