Evening star., 1927-10-09
WHALES LIKENESS
TO MAN REVEALED
Scientists Find Sea Monster
Once Lived on Land and
Was Poor Swimmer.

The biologists are on the trail of
the whale.
This monster OF the deep may or
may not have swallowed Jonah-but
he does things which are more re-
markablo and mysterious and car
rieS in his great body secrets which
may be of great value to the human
race if they can be discovered.
lie is natures submarine and has
developed something-probably SIM
pie eXDedient if it could be learned
which enables his body to stand re-
slstance Of 4 ton a square inch, which
in3tantaneously would crush a man
or any other mammal to jelly.
Furthermore he is the perfect diver
among creatures which must breathe
oxygen to live. He can go under
water with enough oxygen to last for
an hour and a half and then come to
the surface lapidly-a procedure
which would mean certain death for a
deepsea diver.
Physical Structure Discussed.
But physically the whale differs
only specifically from a man, a
monkey or COW. Once, long ages
ago, he lived on dry land, probably
ate other animals and was awkward
in the water. Then he took to the
sea in search of food. Through long
generations he developed into a good
swimmer, then into a good diver.
Finally he spent more Of his time
in the water than on land, lost his
hind legs, and became a sea dwelling
crcature--a warm -blooded, ir-breath-
ing fish.
For q great many generations, 1t is
probable. he lived much the same sort
of life as now is lived by the otter
agile and efficient in the water but
still essentially land animal. Then
he probably became as the present
day seal, dwelling in the water but
spending long periods on the rocks
Then he quit dry land altogether.
Tracing Migration Is Aim.
All this happened millions of years
ago. A fossil of a land whale never
has been found. 1t is believed the
whale took to the water very early
in the age of mammals. But now a
determined effort is being made to
trace the steps of his migration
through the variations in his body.
DR.. A. r. Howell Of the United States
National Museum is conducting this
research IN washington.
Very important in this research Is
the question of the equalization of
pressure. The sperm whale--the one,
by the way, which must have swal-
lowed Jonah if we are to credit the
biblical narrative-Can go a mile be.
low the surface and stay there more
than an hour. The combined weight
of air and water on his body is some.
n q a IN
must be an equalization Of the pres.
sure somehow-but just how nobody
knows. So far as is known to ere is
nothing in the body Of the whale
which is not in the body of a man.
He is equipped with none of the
pressure -equalizing devices of deep-sea
fish.
Obscure Gland Suspected.
Mr.. Howell believes that the secret
finally will he traced down in some
obscure gland which has been devel-
oped abnormally. This probably
exists in the human body, enabling a
man to endure much smaller pres.
sures. The doctors haven't found If
yes' or determined it's purpose. This
gland, or whatever organ it NAV he
develooped bit by bit through the ages.
a deep-sea diver must come to the
surface very slowly to prevent tha
formation Of nitrogen bubbles in The
oloon. due to the excess of nitrogen
IN air breathed over and over. The
whale brings to the surface appr0yi.
mately the same amount of nitrogen
ne takes down with him. He doesn't
nave to worry about the dreaded
'bubbIes, no matter how fast he
comes to the surface. Decrease of
aXfprnQI t,
This mystery also probably can be
traced back to some obscure organ in
the human body which has been de.
Veloped excessively in the whale, ac.
cording to Mr.. Howell
Other Variations Noted.
Other variations wrought in the
progress of the whale from a land to
a water animal are:
The migration of the nostrir to the
top of the head.
The disappearance of external hind
legs which now are partly represented
inside the body.
The transformation Of the limbs
into swimming organs.
The disappearance of all skin
glands.
Disappearance Of the hair and de.
velopment of blubber layers which
serve to preserve the body heat, act
as reserve food supply and as in.
struments Of equilibrium.
Slight modification Of the eyes to
enable the whale to see in salt water,
where the refraction is quite different
from in fresh water. The fresh-water
of the whale family
are practically blind.
If Jonah ever was swallowed by a
whale, says Mr.. Howell, his host must
have been a sperm whale. who Is not
the largest of the family. All other
including the giant whalebone
whale which reaches the record length |
of 100 feet and is the largest Of all
living creatures, have throat passages
no larger than mans arm. The |
whalebone feeds on crustaceans and |
other small forms of sea life.
Sperm Whales Capacity.
The sperm whale, which sometimes |
reaches 90 feet in length, could swal. |
low man. however, in case of neces. |
sity. The throat Is big enough to |
allow the passage Of a human being |
INTO the stomach. And the sperm |
whale is exclusively deep.water |
creature, never venturing near the |
'Sore even for the laudable purpose |
or delivering a holy prophet to his
nom" folks. The sperm whale feeds
on cuttlefish and giant squid and
requires good-sized gullet.
Whales are getting scarce and less
a alluable. Last year, however. about
1000 Nwere killed, the majority. of |
hem In the Antarctic waters around |
he British colony of South Georgia. 7
It this rate Of slaughter. Mr.. Howell
'elieyes. they cannot last long.
Once whaling ship could sail north
to the vicinity of Point Barrow, re.
main two years in the ice. and come
back with cargo worth approxi-
tnately a million dollars. The whale.