Chapter XXX: Appendix: I. Classification of the Cetacea

In order to make clear the relations to each other of the whales and porpoises I have given below a classification and brief diagnosis of the principal groups. The currently accepted subfamilies of the Physeteridæ and Platinistidæ have been omitted for the purpose of simplifying the classification.

Order Cetacea. Whales and Porpoises.

A. Suborder Mystacoceti. Whalebone Whales.

I. Family Balænidæ. Right and Fin Whales.

a. Subfamily Balæninæ. Right Whales.

Head long—skull much arched—whalebone long and
very fine—no grooves on ventral surface—no
dorsal fin—greatest length, 65 feet.

b. Subfamily Balænopterinæ. Fin Whales.

Head short—skull slightly arched—whalebone short
and coarse—grooves on ventral surface—a dorsal
fin—greatest length, 87 feet.

II. Family Neobalænidæ. Pigmy Right Whale.

Head short—skull greatly arched—whalebone long,
slender and white—no ventral grooves—a dorsal fin—ribs
very broad and flat.

III. Family Rhachianectidæ. California Gray Whale.

Head short and moderately arched—whalebone short,
coarse and widely spaced—2 to 4 grooves on the
throat—no dorsal fin—greatest length, 48 feet.

B. Suborder Odontoceti. Toothed Whales.

I. Family Physeteridæ. Sperm Whales.

Head large and blunt—a single blowhole—40 to 50 teeth
in the lower jaw—no functional teeth in upper jaw—a
dorsal hump—greatest length, 70 feet.

II. Family Ziphiidæ. The Ziphioid Whales.

Head pointed—snout produced in form of a beak—a single
crescent-shaped blowhole on top of head—one or two
pairs of functional teeth in lower jaw—no teeth in
upper jaw—greatest length, 30 feet.

III. Family Delphinidæ. Porpoises.

a. Subfamily Delphininæ.

Medium size—two or more neck vertebræ
joined—single crescent-shaped blowhole on top of
head—teeth in both jaws—usually a high dorsal
fin—greatest length, 30 feet.

b. Subfamily Delphinapterinæ. White Whale and Narwhal.

Medium size-head small and neck vertebræ all
separated—single crescent-shaped blowhole on top
of head—no dorsal fin-flippers very
broad—greatest length, 20 feet.

IV. Family Platinistidæ. Fresh Water Porpoises.

Small size—neck vertebræ all separate—single
crescent-shaped blowhole on top of head—all inhabit
fresh or brackish water—greatest length, 12 feet.

II. DIAGNOSES OF THE WHALES DESCRIBED IN THIS BOOK

BLUE WHALE, SULPHURBOTTOM
_Balænoptera musculus_ (Linn.)

Very large size. Average length, 76 feet; maximum length, 87 feet. The pectoral fins are about 15 per cent. of the total length, falcate and bluntly pointed. The dorsal fin is small and variable in form, but usually more or less falcate; it is situated behind the line of the anus. Many ventral folds.

The color of the body is mottled gray, the proportions of light and dark tints varying greatly in different individuals, but the body is usually lightest at the shoulder and between the flippers and the umbilicus. The head is a little darker than the body and unmarked. A few entirely white spots are usually present on the posterior ends of the abdominal folds.

The pectoral fins are gray on the upper surface, except at the tip, and white below. The flukes are plain gray above, and below are marked with fine light and dark gray lines running antero-posteriorly. The dorsal fin is dark gray and the whalebone black.

The rostrum of the skull is very broad with the free margins of the maxillæ convex; the nasal bones are oblong with truncated anterior margins. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 15 (–16), lumbars 14 (–16), caudals 26 (–28). Total, 63–65. Habitat: cosmopolitan.

FINBACK, RAZORBACK
_Balænoptera physalus_ (Linn.)

Large size and very slender form. Average total length, 62 feet; the maximum, 81 feet. The pectoral fins are about 12 per cent. of the total length, lanceolate and pointed. The dorsal fin is moderate in height and falcate; it is situated just behind the line of the anus. Many ventral folds.

The color of the body is dark gray above and white below, the two colors merging imperceptibly into each other on the flanks. The coloration of the head is not bilaterally symmetrical, there being more white on the right side than on the left. The right side of the lower jaw is white and also the anterior third of the whalebone; the left side of the lower jaw and left baleen are dark gray. The gray of the flanks extends obliquely down and back from the pectoral fins toward the flanks, but does not reach the inferior edge of the peduncle, which is white.

The pectoral fins are gray above and white below. The flukes are dark gray above and white below, with a gray posterior margin. The whalebone is gray, striped longitudinally with yellowish white in varying proportions; the anterior baleen on the right side is all yellowish white.

The rostrum of the skull is narrow and pointed with the free margins of the maxillæ nearly straight. The nasal bones are narrow and pointed on the median line anteriorly. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 15 (–16), lumbars 14 (–15), caudals 25 (–26). Total, 61–63. Habitat: cosmopolitan.

SEI WHALE, RUDOLPHI’S RORQUAL
_Balænoptera borealis_ (Lesson)

Moderate size. Average total length, 42 to 43 feet; maximum length, 53 feet. The dorsal fin is large, and falcate; it is situated just anterior to the line of the anus. Many ventral folds.

The color of the head and back is dark gray; on the sides and flanks the gray of the back becomes lighter and the flanks are beautifully marked with wavy gray lines. The throat and breast are white, but a wide dark gray band runs across the belly. The ventral line from the anus to the flukes is gray. The pectoral fins above and below are dark gray, but somewhat lighter on the anterior half of the under side. The flukes above are dark gray like the back, and below are light gray in the ventral portion, becoming darker on the edges. The whalebone is bluish-black with white bristles.

The rostrum of the skull is narrow and triangular with straight sides as in the Finback. The nasal bones are oblong and truncated anteriorly. The first rib is usually bifurcated. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 14 (–13), lumbars 13 (–14), caudals 22 (–23). Total, 56–57. Habitat: cosmopolitan.

HUMPBACK
_Megaptera nodosa_ (Bonn.)

Form massive and ungraceful. Head flat and blunt with dermal tubercles’ along the sides and middle. Ventral folds few and broad. Average total length, 45 feet; maximum length, 55 feet. The pectoral fins are more than one-fourth the entire length with several prominent bunches along the anterior edge. The dorsal fin is low, thick and somewhat falcate, and the flukes are broad with crenate posterior edges.

The color is black with white markings. The head, back and sides are black and the throat and breast to about opposite the pectoral fins are splashed and streaked with white in varying degrees. On the lower lips, sides of the jaw and about the chin, throat and breast are spots, circles and crescents of white; these are probably the scars left by barnacles and other parasites. Between the flippers in the middle of the breast there is usually an irregular transverse patch of white, 10 or 12 inches in diameter.

The flippers are black above with many white spots and circles, and white below except for a broad patch of black at the base. The flukes are normally black above with white spots along the edges; below they are white, spotted and circled with black, except in the basal third, where there is a large black area. The whalebone is dull black, with brownish black bristles.

Skull very broad with an obtuse rostrum. The nasal bones are rather narrow and pointed anteriorly. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 14, lumbars 11 (–10), caudals 21. Total, 53 (–52). Habitat: cosmopolitan.

NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE, BLACK WHALE
_Eubalæna glacialis_ (Bonn.)

Form massive. Head about one-fourth the total length and rostrum much arched, with a protuberance near the anterior end, called the “bonnet.” Lower lip very large, and the free margin is more or less sinuous. Pectoral fins very broad and short. No ventral furrows and no dorsal fin. The color is black throughout, with more or less white on the throat and breast in some individuals. Greatest length, 54 feet.

Rostrum of skull very long, narrow and curved. Nasal bones large, broad and oblong. Sternum broad and irregularly triangular. Scapula broader than high. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 14, lumbars 11 (10–12), caudals 23 (–26). Total, 55 (–57). Habitat: in temperate waters in both hemispheres.

BOWHEAD, GREENLAND RIGHT WHALE
_Balæna mysticetus_ (Linn.)

Form massive. Head enormous, exceeding one-third the total length of the whale. Upper jaw greatly arched to accommodate the long whalebone. No “bonnet.” Blowholes elevated and followed by a deep concavity over the “neck.” No ventral furrows and no dorsal fin. The color is black, with some white about the throat and lower lips. The whalebone is black, long and very elastic; in some individuals it reaches a length of 14 feet. Greatest length, 65 feet.

Rostrum of skull long, narrow and remarkably arched. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 12, lumbars 14, caudals 22. Total, 55. Habitat: Arctic waters only; not found in Antarctic.

CALIFORNIA GRAY WHALE, DEVILFISH
_Rhachianectes glaucus_ (Cope)

Form robust. Upper jaw moderately arched. Two to four furrows on throat. No dorsal fin. The color is black, or very dark slate, thickly marked about the snout, lips, chin and jaws with white flecks and small spots. On the sides, breast and belly are many roughly elliptical, irregular grayish markings and white circular spots which are apparently the scars left by barnacles. The amount of white varies greatly with individuals, but is seldom entirely absent. The pectoral fins and flukes are black on both surfaces, with scattered white spots and circles. Average size, 40 feet; maximum size, 49 feet.

Skull with a broad strip of frontal exposed upon the vertex. Nasals very long and broad. Cervical vertebræ all free. Anterior ribs with tubercles, necks and heads. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 14, lumbars 12, caudals 23. Total, 56. Habitat: North Pacific Ocean only.

SPERM WHALE, CACHALOT
_Physeter macrocephalus_ (Linn.)

Size large and form massive. Head blunt. A single S-shaped blowhole at the end of the snout. Forty to 50 teeth in lower jaw. No functional teeth in upper jaw. A prominent “hump” on the back.

The color is slate gray, with some white about the lower jaw and snout, which is crossed in every direction by long white lines (scars). White or gray patches are usually found about the umbilicus. Greatest length, 70 feet.

The bones of the skull are elevated to form a high crest above and behind the nares. The rostrum is very massive and wide, but gradually tapers to the apex, and is concave. Lower jaw very long and narrow. Atlas free, but all the other cervical vertebræ united into a solid mass. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 11, lumbars 8, caudals 24. Total, 50. Habitat: cosmopolitan, in warm currents.

KILLER WHALE, ORCA, GRAMPUS, THRESHER
_Orca orca_ (Linn.)

Form robust. Head pointed. Heavy pointed conical teeth in both jaws. An extremely high dorsal fin. The color is black, with an elliptical white spot on each side of head. The throat and breast are white and there is a trident-shaped area of white on the belly and flanks. A white or grayish patch is usually present just behind the dorsal fin. The flukes above are black, and below white except for a black band on the posterior margins and tips. Greatest length, 30 feet.

Rostrum about equal in length to the cranial part of the skull, broad and flattened above, rounded in front. Teeth usually twelve in each jaw. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 11–12, lumbars 10, caudals 53. Total, 51–52. Habitat: cosmopolitan.

WHITE WHALE, BELUGA, MARSOUIN BLANC
_Delphinapterus leucas_ (Pallas)

Form robust. Head very small and marked off from body by an ill-defined neck. No dorsal fin. Pectoral fins very broad and upturned. The color is pure white in the adult, except for a very narrow band of brownish on the edges of the flukes and flippers. The young are entirely brownish.

Skull rather narrow and elongated. Eight to ten teeth in both jaws—cervical vertebræ all free. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 11, lumbars 9, caudals 23. Total, 50. Habitat: North Atlantic and North Pacific.

BLACKFISH, PILOT WHALE, CA’ING OR GRINDHVAL
_Globicephalus melas_ (Traill)

Form robust. Head large and very round. Dorsal fin thick and triangular. Pectoral fins very long and narrow.

The color is black throughout, except for a narrow fountain-shaped area of white on the throat, breast and belly. Greatest length, 30 feet.

Skull broad and depressed. Premaxillæ strongly concave in front of nares. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 11, lumbars 12–14, caudals 28–29. Total, 58 or 59. Habitat: North Atlantic Ocean.

BOTTLENOSE PORPOISE
_Tursiops truncatus_ (Mont.)

Head produced in the form of a beak. Strong teeth in both jaws. A well-developed dorsal fin.

The color is dark gray on the head, back and sides, and the throat, breast and belly are white. Average length, 8 feet; greatest length, 12 feet.

Rostrum tapering. Palate not grooved. Symphysis of mandible short. Forty to 50 teeth. Vertebral formula: cervicals 7, dorsals 13, lumbars 17, caudals 27. Total, 64. Habitat: North Atlantic Ocean.

III. THE SKELETON OF THE CETACEA

The skeletons of whales and porpoises are so frequently preserved in museums that, for the benefit of those who wish to understand more fully the Cetacea, a brief general description of the osteology is given below. Unfortunately, however, it is impossible to present the subject except in semi-technical language.

The bones of the Cetacea are comparatively light and fragile, the hard, shell-like exterior being thin and the interior filled with spongy “cancellous tissue” which is considerably impregnated with oil. In structure they are exactly opposite to those of the Sirenia (the aquatic mammalian order including the sea cows, or manatees, and the dugongs), which have very heavy solid bones of almost flinty hardness. Cetacean bones are easily affected by weather, and if exposed to the sun, rain and wind for a comparatively short time the hard exterior becomes white and chalk-like.

The whale’s skeleton is highly modified in adaptation to an aquatic existence and is very distinctive of the cetacean order. In a general view it is seen to be greatly elongated, the skull is pointed, the fore-limbs are short and flat and the hind-limbs are represented by nodules of bone; all these accompany a fish-like body which offers little resistance to its passage through the water.

The skull is perhaps more greatly modified than any other portion of the skeleton, and if a trained anatomist who had not studied the Cetacea were to examine a whale’s skull, he would probably be at a loss to identify correctly its parts. The brain case is small and rounded, the eyes are situated far back and the facial portion greatly elongated. The back of the brain case is formed by an extraordinarily developed supra-occipital bone which extends forward and upward to meet the frontal, entirely excluding the parietals from the summit of the skull. The nostrils have rotated backward and upward and are almost vertical instead of horizontal as in other mammals; thus the nasal bones are greatly reduced in size.

The skull of a toothed whale in general appearance is quite unlike that of a whalebone whale; the nasals are very small, and the maxillæ, premaxillæ and frontals meet above the nostrils to form a bony ridge which is sometimes developed into an extraordinary crest. In some cases the crest overhangs the blowholes and is asymmetrical, the right side being much more strongly developed than the left.

The facial portion, or rostrum, of the right whales is narrow and greatly arched, but in the Balænopteras it is wide and flat; in the toothed whales it may be either wide and concave, as in the Physeteridæ, or narrow and beak-like as in the Ziphiidæ and Delphinidæ.

The neck, or cervical, vertebræ of all the Cetacea are exceedingly thin and plate-like and usually either two or three of the entire series are fused. In large-headed species, such as the right whales, the neck is reduced to a minimum and the cervical vertebræ are all joined in a solid mass to bear the weight of the enormous skull.

The remainder of the spinal column, as in all mammals, is divided into dorsal, lumbar and caudal vertebræ. The first series bear ribs and the last, which are those of the “tail region,” may be distinguished by the V-shaped “chevron bones” attached to the lower side of each vertebral body; because of the absence of functional hind-limbs no sacrum is present.

The ribs of the whalebone whales differ from those of other mammals because all but the first two or three have lost the capitulum, or head, and articulate by only the tuberculum to the transverse processes of the vertebræ.

In the baleen whales the sternum, or breast bone, is so reduced that it only articulates with the first pair of ribs, the lower ends of those remaining being free. Thus with the weak attachment of the ribs to the vertebræ and no fastening to the sternum, a loose “thoracic box” is formed, which is capable of great lateral movement as the enormous lungs expand and contract.

In the toothed whales conditions are somewhat different. Many of the ribs have the normal attachment by head and tubercle to the vertebræ and are joined by their lower ends to the sternum, which consists of several pieces; thus the thoracic box is much more rigid than in the baleen whales.

The bones of the fore-limbs of ordinary mammals are present in the cetacean flipper, but they become greatly flattened and overlaid with adipose tissue to form a paddle. In the right whales the five fingers of the mammalian hand are present, but in others one finger has been lost, and the digits are greatly elongated. The scapula, or shoulder blade, is a wide, flat, fan-shaped bone, and the clavicles, or collarbones, have entirely disappeared. The hind-limbs are rudimentary, when present at all, only being represented by bony nodules, and the pelvis is reduced to two spindle-shaped bones quite unlike that of land mammals.

The skeleton of each group of the Cetacea, although similar in general characters, varies enormously in the details of construction, and to anyone interested in osteology will prove a fascinating subject for investigation.

IV. ADAPTATION AS SHOWN BY THE CETACEA

There are many indisputable evidences that whales once lived upon the land and walked upon four legs like ordinary quadrupeds, yet how remarkably different from any land mammal is their present form!

We see that almost all aquatic creatures have torpedo-shaped bodies, which offer the minimum of resistance to their passage through the water. Thus as the whales gradually changed from a terrestrial to an aquatic life their bodies assumed the elongated form essential for successful existence in a liquid medium.

Accompanying this change of bodily shape was the elimination of all unnecessary structures which offered resistance, and the whale’s smooth, soft, hairless skin was one of the results. But the hair of a land mammal acts as a non-conductor, preventing the heat of the blood from being absorbed by the air, and as the whale’s body became naked it was necessary to blanket it with some other protective covering; thus the layer of fat or blubber developed between the skin and the flesh. Fish and amphibians do not need a warm covering because their blood is cold and changes with the temperature of the medium in which they live.

Besides giving warmth to a land mammal, hair acts as a protection for its tender skin; but since a whale lives in the water, where bruises or abrasions are unlikely, such protection is unnecessary. With the loss of hair the sweat and oil glands which are present in the skins of land mammals finally disappeared.

When any creature becomes aquatic it must necessarily develop means for progression through the water, and thus the caudal portion of the whale’s body by degrees expanded into the wide, flat, boneless tail, or flukes. But instead of being vertical to the axis of the body like the tail of a fish, the whale’s flukes are horizontal, obviously to give the animal greater facility in rising to the surface to breathe.

With the development of the flukes there came a change in the whale’s fore-limbs, which were flattened and covered with connective tissue and blubber. The excellent paddles thus formed, while probably of little use in forward motion, assist in rapid turning and act as balancing organs to keep the animal upright in the water. In some species an adipose dorsal fin has also developed as a further balancing aid.

During the development of the flippers and flukes the hind-limbs, which were no longer of use to the whale, became small and weak, sunk into the blubber and finally disappeared altogether, the greatly modified pelvic elements and nodules of bone or cartilage representing the femur alone remaining.

The heads of most cetaceans are long and pointed, acting as a “cut-water,” but one of the most remarkable aquatic adaptations is the position of the nostrils, or blowholes, which open upon the very summit of the head, in either a single or double aperture, instead of at the end of the snout. The cause of this migration of the nostrils is obvious, for in this position the blowholes first appear at the surface and the whale can begin to breathe while the rest of its body is yet under water.

In all cetaceans the facial portion of the skull is greatly elongated, and especially in the Mystacoceti the mouth is exceedingly large to accommodate the baleen, which hangs in two parallel rows from the upper jaw. Probably no mammalian adaptation for the securing of food is more remarkable than the whale’s baleen. It is almost unbelievable that an animal which once had teeth could, as its food changed, replace them by a complicated straining apparatus such as the whalebone. The baleen is an epidermal growth and is in reality merely an exaggeration of the transverse ridges present in the mouths of land mammals.

We know that the Mystacoceti at one time had teeth, for in fœtal whales two sets of minute teeth are present under the skin, corresponding to the “milk” and “permanent” dentition of ordinary mammals, but these disappear before the baleen begins to develop.

Another interesting feeding adaptation is present in the throat of the whale. The nostrils, instead of opening into the back of the mouth, as in land mammals, are directly connected with the lungs by a prolongation of the “windpipe” called the epiglottis, which entirely shuts off the whale’s breathing passage from the mouth. Thus the animal can swallow its food beneath the surface without danger of strangulation through getting water into its lungs.

When whales lived upon the land external ears were necessary, but as they became completely aquatic such “sound collectors” were not only of no more use but highly undesirable, because, like the useless hind-limbs, they offered additional resistance to the water; therefore the external ears were lost, but their muscles still remain about the minute ear-orifices of the present-day Cetacea.

The internal modifications which the whales underwent as they assumed an aquatic existence are fully as remarkable as the external changes. In the section on osteology it has been explained how, in living cetaceans, the entire skeleton is loosely articulated so that great flexibility and freedom of movement is given to the body, how the neck is shortened and the vertebræ have become thin and closely packed together to support the large head, and how the breast bone is reduced and the ribs so loosely articulated to the vertebral column that the huge lungs have full power of expansion. All these are necessary modifications of the mammalian skeleton which have been caused by the change from a terrestrial to an aquatic existence.

The lungs of the Cetacea are unlobulated and of extraordinary size; the diaphragm, the muscular partition which separates the thoracic from the abdominal cavity, is oblique, and the brain greatly convoluted and of a high type; the brain is especially notable for the loss of the olfactory, or smelling portions, which are of no use to an aquatic mammal.

Thus it is apparent in a review of only the most obvious changes what a wonderful example of adaptation to environment is furnished by the Cetacea.

INDEX

_Aate_ (_Calanus finmarchius_), 126

_Acinomyx jubatus._ _See_ Cheetah

Admiralty Island, Alaska, 4
Tyee Company erected station on, 185

Aikawa, 91, 130, 143, 152, 235, 263

_Airondo Maru_, 105, 130

_Akebono_, 105

Alaska, vii, 4, 5, 46, 59, 63, 64, 143, 148, 158, 175, 180, 230, 252

Alaska Whaling Company, 5

_Albatross, U. S. S._, 77, 78

Aleutian Islands, 5, 230

Allen, Doctor Glover M., 45

Allen, Doctor J. A., vii

Amagansett, 253, 255

Ambergris, 225, 226, 227

America, Pacific Coast of, 185, 186

_American Museum Journal_, viii

American Museum of Natural History, vii
skeletons of all the large Japanese cetaceans in, viii
trustees of, viii, 230, 235, 255, 266

American West Coast whaling industry, vii

American whaling ships, 189

Americans, 23

Andersen, Captain Y. E., vii, 61, 92, 95, 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 107,
108, 110, 111, 113, 114, 115, 117, 120, 121

Andrews, Yvette Borup, vii

Antarctic circle, 304

Antarctic Ocean, 124, 184

Antwerp, 265

_Aosaki_ (red blubber whale), 214

Apple Island, 269

Arctic Ocean, 186, 249, 263

Arctic Region, 184

Argentina, 9, 304

Arytenoid cartilages, 43

Atlantic finwhalers, 176

Atlantic Ocean, 183, 184, 304

Australia, 6, 169, 248, 265

Baffin Bay, 296

_Balænopterinæ_, 183

Balcom, Captain, 24, 25, 30

Baleen, 37, 69
objects made of, 90, 158
value of, 247, 248, 253

Baleen whales, food of, 67

Banks Land, 249

Barclay Sound, 4, 22, 24

Barnacles, 65, 66, 211, 248

Barneson, Captain John, viii, 4

Barrel view from the crow’s nest, 26

Basques, 245

Bay City, Washington, 5

Bay of Biscay, 245, 296

Bay of Islands, 6

Beluga or white whale, 54

_Berardius bairdi_, 266

Bering Sea, 204, 220, 249, 301

Bering Strait, 249

Bernheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Charles L., vii

Birds, 107, 109, 110

Black codfish (_Polachius virens_), 123

Blackfish, sometimes called pilot whale, 291

_Blahval_, Norwegian name for blue whale, 178

Blanket piece, 82

Blow, 47

Blowholes, 43
adaptation to aquatic life, 44, 153
elevation of, 45
position of, 44, 153

Blowing, 43

Blubber, 35, 74, 149, 151, 152, 153, 208, 213, 214, 240, 261, 277, 302

Blue whale, 14, 19, 24, 39, 41, 57, 70, 150, 155, 178, 179, 180, 183,
185, 302, 305
capture and delivery to station, 139, 140, 142, 143
Millais’ interesting account of hunt of, 144–147
photographing of and shooting at, 132

Blue whale, skeleton of, 75, 80, 91, 122, 127, 130
vigorous attempt to capture, 133

Boiling vats, 11

Bomb, 12

Bomb harpoon, 3

Bonnaterre, Abbé, 245

Borneo, vii

Bottlenose (_Hyperoödon rostratum_), 57, 72, 154
habits and characteristics of, 262
method of hunting, 258–261
origin of name, 258
where found, 263, 264

Bottlenose porpoise (_Tursiops truncatus_), 278, 282

Bowdoin, George S., vii

Bowhead, 2, 221, 245, 247, 251, 296
food of, 248
grounds of, 249

Brazil, 9

Breach, 63

Breaching, 64

Breathing, 42

Breeding grounds, 202, 203

Breeding habits of all large whales, 72

Brett, Captain, 6

Bryde, John, 5

Bull, Captain, 300

Bumpus, Doctor Herman C., vii

Bunk-houses, 11

_Cabot_, 146

_Calanus finmarchius, Aate_, 126

Calf, 69

Calf, enormous size at birth, 143

California, 202, 203
coast of, 204

California gray whale, 72, 125, 178, 189, 190, 192, 195, 196, 197, 200,
201
length when born, 73

California lagoons, 186, 189

Camera, vii, 27, 30, 96, 97, 104, 113, 130
important part of, in natural history, 55

Canadian North Pacific Fisheries, Ltd., 5

Canting winch, 35

Cape Beale, 25

Cape Good Hope, 183

Cape Hatteras, 239, 278, 280, 282, 290

Cape Horn, 183

Cape Ommaney, 5

Cape St. Mary, 146

Carcass platforms, 11, 36

Castberg, Captain, 176

Cetacea, 124

Cetaceans, 127, 149, 267
color changes when dead, 17
hair on, 212, 213, 214
individual variation of, 17, 20
physiology of, 59

Cheetah (_Acinomyx jubatus_), 127

Chili, 9

Chinese, 23

Christiania Bay, 1

Cinematograph, 100

Clark, James L., 255

Communicate, how whales, 60

Cook Brothers, 6, 89

Cope, Professor, 189

Copepod (_Penella antarctica_), 124

_Coronula_, 248

_Coronula diadema_, 212

Coryphæna, 267

Crew, 14

Crow’s nest, whales sighted from, 14

_Cryptolepas rhachianectei_ (shell-like barnacles), 212

Cutters, 82

Cutting in, 20, 33, 34
Japanese method of, 79

Cutting operations, 37

Cuttlefish, 226, 230

_Cyamus_, 248

_Cyamus scammoni_ (whale lice), 212

_Daito No. 2_, whaleship, 130

Davis Strait, 245, 263, 296

_Delphinidæ_, 267

_Delphinapterus leucas._ _See_ White porpoise

Devilfish, 178, 189, 195, 204
affection of, 208

Dinosaurs, 140

Dolphin, 151, 219, 223, 267

Dorsal fin, 153

Double-finned whale, 61, 62

Dryer, 11

Durban, 5

Dutch East Indies, vii, 77

East Indies, Dutch, vii

_Eclipse_, Captain David Gray’s schooner, 258

Edwards, Captain Josh, 255

Engine house, 11

England, 9, 265

Epiglottis, 44

Eskimos, 251, 252, 253

_Eubalæna glacialis._ _See_ Right whale

_Euphausia inermis_, 67, 126, 301

Fagan, D. W. O., quoted, 8

Falkland Islands, 9, 123, 230, 304

Fanshaw, Cape, 47

Faroe Islands, 9, 263, 291

Feed, 47

Feeding, 50

Feeding operations, 68

Fertilizer, 36, 37, 88

Finback, 19, 24, 39, 46, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 62, 70, 91, 122, 127, 129,
143, 158, 160, 164, 166, 169, 172, 173, 175, 176, 178, 179, 180,
183, 185, 223, 305, 306
Millais’ description of killing, 181, 182

Finland, 296

Finmark, 3, 122, 263
accident off coast of, 72

Finners, 2

Fins, 148, 149

Fin whale, 2, 3, 143, 153, 223, 297, 304
mating and pairing of, 73
small fish eaten by, 69
value of baleen of, 37

Flensing knives, 81

Flensing slip, 11, 36

Flippers, 35, 149

Floating factories, 9
development of, 301, 302

Flukes, 148

Food, 11

Formosa, 77

Foyn, Svend, inventor of harpoon-gun, 1, 2, 16
best years of (1871–1880), 3

Frederick Sound, 4, 46, 59

French Antarctic Expedition, 124

_Fukushima_, 105

Fur seal, 204, 208

Fusan, 191

Galapagos Islands, 9

_Globicephalus brachypterus_, 295

_Globicephalus melas_, 291

_Globicephalus scammoni_, 295

Glue, 37

_Gracia_, whaling ship sunk by a finner, 176

Grahame, Captain Charles, 46, 58, 59, 158, 168, 169, 173

_Grampus_, 220

_Grampus griseus_, 221

Gray, Captain David, 258, 259, 262

Gray whale, 198, 199
diseases of, 210, 212, 214, 305
food of, 207
migration of, 202
period of gestation of, 204

Great Britain, 304

Great Dismal Swamp Canal, 283

Greenland, 9, 240, 263, 296

Greenland right whale, 245, 247

_Grind_, 291, 292, 294

Guano, 37

Guldberg, Dr. G. A., 262

Gunner, 14, 16

Hakata, 190

Hansen, Captain, 109

Harpoon, 12, 14

Harpoon-gun, 2, 11, 16, 26
charge of, 12
weight of, 12

Hebrides, 9

Hermitage Bay, Newfoundland, 69, 146

Herschel Island, 253

Hibberd, Captain I. N., viii, 4

_Hogei Maru No. 5_, 92

Hudson Bay, 249

Humpback, 19, 24, 27, 33, 38, 39, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57,
60, 63
amorous antics in mating season, 66
baby, 73
caught in wire nets, 6
danger from lancing, 70
dive of, 29
great affection of, 69, 71, 72
habits of, 59
period of gestation, 73, 87, 130, 148, 149, 152, 158, 167, 168, 185,
232, 305
photograph of, breaching, 64
playful disposition of, 66

Hurum, Captain, 60, 197, 199

Huxley, Leonard, 218

_Hyperoödon rostratum._ _See_ Bottlenose

Iceland, 3, 263, 296

Ikeda, Mr., 79

Indians, 23

Indians, Siwash, 186

Individual variation, 17, 20

Inland Sea, 79

Isafjord, 72

Island Empire, cutting operations at, 37

Italian hemp, tested for a breaking point of eighteen tons, 14

_Iwashi kujira._ _See_ Sardine whale

Jacobsen, Captain Reidar, 130

Japan, 5, 14, 37, 57, 61, 64, 79, 123, 152, 189, 220, 230, 235, 249,
253, 263, 266, 302
use of whales for food in, 304, 305
whaling banks of, 77

Japan Sea, 190

Japanese Empire, 5, 35, 178, 214
coast of, 5, 57, 58
stations in, 79

Jarfjord, 3, 176

Johanessen, Hans, mate of the _Puma_, 144

Johnson, Captain, 197, 200

Kamaishi, 130

Kay Verde Islands, 239

Kerguelen Islands, 9, 142, 304

Killer whale, 197, 218, 220, 221, 222, 223, 261, 263, 267, 289, 295
food of, 219
strength and ferocity of, witnessed by Captain Scott, 215

Kinka-San, 104, 121

Kirkeö, site of first factory for converting whale flesh into guano, 3

_Kirkwood_, ship, 156

Kishimoto, 79

_Koku kujira_ or devilfish, 108, 189, 190, 196

Korea, 57, 178, 189, 190, 191, 202, 206, 208, 210, 220, 221
coast of, 204

Koreans, 193, 194, 195
dress of, 192

_Kronprinz Wilhelm_, 39

Kyuquot, 4, 24, 153

Labrador, 144, 263, 301
coast of, 143

_Lagenorhynchus obliquidens._ _See_ Porpoise

Larsen, Captain, 19, 130

Leopard, African hunting, 127

Line, harpoon, 14

Liouville, Doctor, 124

Lobtail, 38

Lobtailing, 65

Lucas, Doctor Frederic A., vii, 75, 142
extract from “_The Passing of the Whale_,” by, 298–300
weighing and measuring of blue whale by, 140

Layard’s whale (_Mesoplodon layardi_), 264

Machine for drying the flesh, 11

Magdalena Bay, 209

_Main_, Captain Melsom’s ship, 195, 201

“_Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland, The_,” by J. G. Millais,
extracts from, 70, 146, 176, 182

Manager’s house, 11

Manatee. _See_ Sea cow

“_Marine Mammalia, The_,” by Scammon, 196

_Marsouin blanc_, 269

Mast, 14

Matsumoto, Mr., 195

Maury, Lieut., 184, 256

McGrath, R. T., 298

McMurdo Strait, 220

Megapteras, 66

Melsom, Captain H. G., vii, 60, 70, 146, 195, 199, 201, 208, 263
blue whale killed by, at Ulsan, Korea, 57

_Mesoplodon densirostris_, specimen of, found on New Jersey coast, 265

_Mesoplodon grayi_, 264

_Mesoplodon layardi_ (Layard’s whale), 264

_Metropolitan_, viii

Mexico, Norwegian firm built station on Pacific coast of, 5, 301

Milk, taste and appearance of, 73, 74, 75

Milk glands, 74

Millais, J. G., quoted, 69, 70, 71, 72, 144, 145, 146, 176, 180, 181,
182

_Minerva_, whaling steamer, 72

Montana, 140

Motion-picture film, 100, 101

Müller, Mr., 264

Murderer’s Cove, 4, 46

_Mystacoceti._ _See_ Whalebone whales

Nagasaki, 77

Nannaimo, Vancouver Island, Pacific Whaling Company erected a station
at, 185

Narwhal, 269, 276

_National Geographic Magazine_, viii

Naturalist, 16, 19, 20, 54

_Ne Taihei_, 104

Nets, for catching whales, 6

New Bedford, Mass., 1, 2, 16, 239, 278

New Bedford whalers, 238

New England states, 1

Newfoundland, 4, 5, 23, 24, 45, 75, 140, 144, 146, 178, 196, 297, 301

Newfoundland fishery, 298

New York, 91, 295

New York Aquarium, 218, 278

New York Zoölogical Society, 278, 280

New Zealand, 6, 89, 140, 265

Nilsen, Captain, 69, 146

North Atlantic Ocean, 123, 124, 263, 291, 295

North Atlantic right whale, 245, 296

North Cape, 3, 176

Norway, 1, 3, 5, 9, 24, 126, 147, 258, 304

Norwegian captains, authentic instances related by, 72

Norwegian fishermen, relation to whaling, 3

Norwegian gunner, 14

Norwegian whalers, 4

Norwegians, 5, 16, 23, 24, 75, 122, 143, 181, 210, 258

Nostrils, 44, 55

Nova Zembla, 263

Nursing of whales, 74

Nye, Joseph K., owner of porpoise fishery at New Bedford, Mass., 278

_Odontoceti_, 67

Offices, 11

Ogiwara, D., viii

Ohlin, Axel, 259

Okhotsk Sea, 203, 249

Olsen, Captain Fred, vii, 105, 129, 130, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138,
230, 238, 263

_Orca gladiator_, 289

Orca or killer whale, enemy of other whales, 197, 199, 200, 201, 219,
220, 221, 223, 261

Oriental Whaling Company, Ltd., 78

_Orion_, 24, 25, 30, 33, 38

Osaka, viii, 5, 121

Osborn, Henry Fairfield, viii

Oshima, 80, 91, 152

_Outing_, viii

Pacific coast of America, 4, 64
of Mexico, 5

Pacific Ocean, 124, 142, 183, 184, 202, 263, 264, 295, 301, 304

Pacific Steam Whaling Company, 252

Pacific Whaling Company, Victoria, B. C, vii, 4, 5, 22, 185

Pamlico Sound, 283, 290

Pan, 14, 27

Parasite, 66
discovery of, 124

“Passing of the Whale,” extract from Zoölogical Society Bulletin,
298–300

_Penella antarctica_, parasite, description of scar made by, 124

Petersen, Captain John, 72

Photographic negatives, developing of, 54

Placentia, 145

_Plymouth_, ship, 155

Pod, 17

Point Barrow, Alaska, 249, 252, 253

_Polachius virens._ _See_ Black codfish

Porpoise fishery, 278

“Porpoise in Captivity, The,” by Charles H. Townsend, 280

Porpoise oil, 269

Porpoise, white, 56, 77

Porpoises, 151, 267
hide of, 154
school of, 58, 137

Pram, 69, 71, 72

Pregnant whales, 74

Pribilof Islands, 208

_Puma_, whale steamer, 144, 145

Quinton, J. H., vii, 23

Red shrimp, 67, 126

_Rekkusu Maru_, 105, 129, 130

Revenue from shore whaling, 2

_Rex Maru_, 200

Right whale, 2, 143, 145, 184, 253
food of, 248
origin of name, 245
skeleton and baleen of, in American Museum, 255

Rocovitza, 59

Rolls, Mr., 23

Rope, five-inch, 12, 14, 27

Rope-pan, 26

Ruck, Sidney C., vii

Russian industry, 5

Russian-Japanese War, 5

St. Lawrence River, 56, 77, 269

_St. Lawrence_, whaler, 19, 69, 130

Saldanha Bay, 6

San Francisco, 249

_San Hogei_, 105, 109

Sandefjord, 5

Sardine whale (_Iwashi kujira_), 91, 94, 123

Sardines, 110

Scammon, Charles M., quoted, 66, 154, 196, 203, 204–206, 208, 209, 212,
221

Scandinavians, 16

School, 17

Scientist, 18

Scotland, 9

Scott, Captain Robert F., quoted, 215, 217, 218

Sea cow or manatee, 213

Sea leopard, 220

Seals, 213

Seattle, 249

Sechart, 4, 22, 24, 33, 73, 74
cutting operations at, 37

Sei whale, 91, 104, 105, 120, 125, 127, 185, 305
food of, 126
habits of, 123
migrations of, 124
origin of name, 122
parasite on body of, 124
speed of, 97

_Seje_, 122

Sharps, 117, 118, 119, 121

Shetlands, 9, 146

Sherwood, George H., vii

Shimonoseki, viii, 78, 91

_Shiro-nagasu_, 130, 178

_Shiro-nagasu kujira_, 80

_Shirosaki_ (white blubber whale), 214

Shore stations, 9, 20

Shore whaling, 19
development of, 1
operations of Japanese and Russians in, 5
plea for proper legislation of, 305, 306
revenue from, 2

Shrimps, 68, 69, 301

Siberia, coast of, 5, 146

Siwash Indians, 186

Sleep, where whales, 60

Slicing machine, 35

Slip, 20

Slocum, Victor, quoted, 240–244

Smithsonian Institution, 219

Soft palate, 44

Sorenson, the gunner, 50, 52, 53, 63, 161, 164, 168, 171, 172

_Sorenson_, wooden whale ship, sunk by a finback, 175

Sound produced by blowing, 55

Sounded, 63

Sounding, 39

South Africa, 5, 123

South America, 9, 249

South Atlantic grounds, 9

South Atlantic Ocean, 11, 124, 142, 302, 304

South Georgia Islands, 9, 142
as whaling center, 302, 304

South Orkneys, 9, 304

South Sea Islands, 90

South Shetland Islands, 123, 304

Spain, 296

_Spes et Fides_, ship, 3

Sperm whale, 2, 67, 77, 91, 94, 95, 143, 177, 184, 223, 224, 225, 227,
228, 229, 230, 232, 238, 239, 261, 263, 265
killed in Japan for the American Museum, 235

Spermaceti, 225, 261

Spitzbergen, 9, 263, 296

Spout, 45, 55, 56
height and density of the, 44

Spouting, 43, 50, 55
number of times of, by humpback, 56

Squid, 226, 230

Steam whalers, effect of development of, in capture of finners, 2

Steller’s sea lions, 219

Stillman, Doctor J. D. B., quoted, 155, 156, 157

Stokken, Captain, 181

Storm Island, 48

Störthing, prohibited shore whaling in 1903, 4

Straits of Juan de Fuca, 25

Street, V. H., vii

Sub-Antarctic Islands, 9

Sulphurbottom or blue whale, 155, 157, 178

Swedish iron, 12

Swordfish, 222, 223

Tadoussac, 269, 277

_Takamatsu_, Japanese name for killer, 220

Tasmania, 6

Teats, 73, 74

_Tees_, 22

Thresher, 220, 222

Tokyo, 91

Tokyo Bay, 266

Tongue, 68

Tønsberg, 1, 2, 16

Toothed whales (_Odontoceti_), 67

Towing line, 27

Townsend, Charles H., 218, 279
experience of, on Pribilof Islands, 218, 219
quoted, 280–290

Toyo Hogei Kabushiki Kaisha, president and directors of, viii, 5, 78,
90, 190

Trachea or windpipe, 44

Trying out vats, 35

_Tursiops truncatus._ _See_ Bottlenose porpoise

Twins, 74

Tyee, Alaska, 46

_Tyee_, Captain Charles Grahame’s ship, 46, 158

Tyee Company of Alaska, 4, 5, 175, 185

Ulsan, Korea, 57, 60, 190, 192, 195, 197, 200, 202, 207, 208, 210

Unimak Pass, 5

United States National Museum, 75

United States Whaling Company, 5

Vadso, 176

Vancouver, factories of Canadian North Pacific Fisheries, Ltd., at, 5

Vancouver Island, 4, 19, 22, 46, 130, 185, 220

Varangerfjord, 3, 176

Vardö, 3

Victoria, B. C., 4

Vocal organs, 55

Voice, 55

Wads, 12

Wainscott, L. I., 256

Walrus, 213, 221

Wangamumu, 6

Weddell seal, 220

Whale lice, 211, 212, 248

Whale oil, 151

Whalebone, 2, 37
growth, composition, shape, bristles, use, development of, 67, 143,
248

Whalebone plates, bristles on inner side of, 69

Whalebone whales (_Mystacoceti_), 67

Whales, breeding habits of, 72
carcass used for human consumption, 5
depth of diving, 41
description of cutting, 240
double-finned, 61, 62
early extinction of, 21
food of, 67
inflating, 32, 33
influence of, upon fishing, 4
investigations, distribution, life history, relationship of, 20
manner of swimming, 148
meat of, 77
canning of, 89
chemical analysis of, 88
for eating purposes, 86
price of, 87
taste of, 88
methods of studying, 19
milking, 75
movements of, 67
nets for catching, 6
number taken during a season, 19

Whales, scientific study of, 17
spouting of, 43
time below the surface, 56
with two dorsal fins, 61
young of, number of, at a birth, 74
nursing of, 74

Whales, Asiatic, viii

Whaling, beginning of, 245
great part persistency plays in, 136
new era of, 16

Whaling companies, assistance of, to scientists, 20

Whaling grounds, greatest of modern times, 9

Whaling ships, 11

Whaling stations, 11

Wharf, 11

White porpoise (_Delphinapterus leucas_), 56, 269

White whale or beluga, 154

Wilson, Doctor, quoted, 220

Winch, 14, 32, 34, 134

Windpipe or trachea, 44

_World’s Work_, viii

Wrangle Island, 249

Wyoming, 140

Ziphiidæ, 264

Ziphioids, 258, 265

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. 3. Re-indexed footnotes using numbers. 4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.