The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-04-17

gone. Besides the chest paddles into which
tho anterior limbs have been metamorpbosed,
cetacea have lost the saera section Of the spine,
with its associated arches aud nrticulations, so
that tho vertical or horizontal motion OF the tail
fin, which in some specimens, has surface of
from so to 100 square feet, is unimpeded. At
some point on the back whales have likewise
developed ileshy dorsal fin, and in this par
ticular increase that superficial likeness TO
fishes, which, however, vanishes rs soon as their
forms are fully revealed.
LOOKED AT EXTERNALLY
the cetaceau head Is generally Of a size dispro-
portionate with that of the body, and in all
members of this group the upper jaw Is greatly
prolonged, and its bones may be said 10 mask
the anterior part of the Uranium proper. Those
plates which form most OF the lateral walls and
Il considerable portion of the vertex of ord mary
mammalian SIX ulls are small in these creatures
aud placed l0w down. In short both the face
skeleton aud rTanial bones of the whale are
greatly changed from the average structure be-
longing 10 ita class. and In almost all species the
former is distorted When teeth arc present
which il not always the case these are not
specialized as In other caruivorous or vegetable
eating animals into ineisors CANNES and
molara, but simply consist of conical tusks
without AuecesgoTsj which have but single
root and frequently with ineomp otcly -separat-
cd sockets. A whales uostris. like those Of the
other members Of this order are on top
Of his head, although their exact position
varies and the apex Of the flannel shaped
Wiudpipe is 50 completely embraced by the
soft palate, that the larynx and internal
nostrils are in direct communication. Thus
eetaeeans can swim along the surface. where
many of them collect their food, and swallow
marine mollusks, etc, while they are in the act
of respiring. None of these animals have ex-
ternal ears. though the organ internally is very
much the same with that OF other mammals but
all species possess an equivalent to hearing which
must resemble this sense IN "A greatly evolved
state. Their hearing is usually asserted TO be
poor. The sight Is good, Notwithstanding that
the cetacean eye Is comparatively small, aud has
no third eyelid. Considered as Il separate organ
il has limited field of vision. Likewise some Of
these animals, rs tho doiphius, have no sense of
smell, there being nasal distribution of the
olfactory nerve. II Is probable, however, that
| there exists some rudimentary development of
| IA structure so characteristic in the vertebrate
class as this Ii in all whales aud In some (ths
whaebone whnles) this apparatus Is distinctly
present, There is nothing to show that touch
and taste are not highly evolved, aud the con-
| voluted brain of cetacca seems TO indicate its
association with considerable intelligence. In
| all species tho stomach is compound, but tho
number Of It's compartments varies with differ
ent genera. OF course there Is physiological
| reason for the existence OF compound organ,
| but what 1t Is remains unknown.
IN TRUE WHALES THE INTESTINAL TRACT
| 10 considerably shorter than in the toothed c.
| tacea, aud in Baenoidea, as well as in the
| beuga and grampua there is q Ventral air-sack
! connected with the windpipe. AS "A whole these
animals, which are all air-breathing creatures,
| have slightly higher temperature than ter
restrial mammals, and some observers assert
! that the absolute quantity OF blood is also pro-
portionately greater than In these. " Sound
al tn
meet this necessity the arteries and veins of
| whales form great vascular knots or p!exuses
| in various parts Of the thOrax, in which what
| might be called reserve blood is accumulated,
aud thence distributed TO the tissues.
The order Cetacca includes the sub orders
| Dolphin0idea, or dophins; Baenoidea, or
whales, and the extinct Phocodontia. In the
aec0nd OF these groups only The hrst RIB Is
articulatcd to the brcastbone, and all the others
| have free ends or form sO.called floating ribs.
| Further, there is II less marked assymetry of
| the kull in whales than among dolphins The
| former comprise numerous aud widely separ-
| ated forms, but space forblds more than brief
| meuti0n of tho larger and more important of
| these, viz. sperm and bono whales, or more
definitely, tho toothed and toothless cetaeea,
the latter of which, however, also possesses
| teeth in the fetal state.
| Indians, Eskimos, japanese and Tartars have
| hunted whales from an immomorial antiquity.
| Biscayans, Norwegians, Dutch, English and
| Americans have done the same in more recent
times, yet any Investigation into their habits
| of life will reveal the fact that, rs Lesson says
| IAN impenetfable vail covers our knowledge of
| cetaceap In no case do those errors aud mis-
conceptions which Cuyier iamented as, appar-
| emily, attaching TO the larger animals insVi-
tably. gather more thicky than around the
animals in question. These creatures are pur-
sued for their oil and whalebone. Physiology
caly the function of the blubber, from which
! temperature of the body in medium colder
for the most part, than air. Among eaeholots
! or sperm whales, the female is much smaller
| than the male but with baleen cetaeea it is the
reverse. In the former, the upper jaw and head
above the cranal bones is vastly superior in
size and yield of oil to these parts in Balgnoi-
dea. Whalebone whales feed on minute marine
animals which are found upon the surface, and