WHALE, the popular name of the larger cetaceans, particularly of all those belqng ing to the families bakrnida and pkyreterkhe or eatodontida. The latter family has already been noticed in the article CACTIOLOT, and some of the species of delphinkke, also some times called whales, have been described in separate articles, as the CAAING 1VnAt.F: and the BELtioA. The balanida alone remain to be described now. In this family, the head is of enormous size, as in the eatodontida, but is entirely destitute of teeth, instead of which, the palate is furnished with an apparatus of baleen, or whalebone, for the purpose of straining out of the water the small crustaceans and acaleplue, which form the food of these whales, Rudiments of teeth, however—dental pulps—appear in the fetus of the whale—sixty or seventy on each side of each jaw but they are re-absorbed into the system, and the plates of whalebone are not produced front them but from the integu ments.
The fibrous structure of baleen, or vhakbone, its elasticity, and its heaviness are well-known, The plates of it in the mouth of a whale are very numerous, several hun dreds on each side of the mouth, and they are very closely placed together, so that the mouth is filled with them; the whole quantity in the month of a large whale sometimes amounting to nearly two tons in weight. They are suspended from the roof of the mouth; none proceed from the lower jaw. They extend on each side from the middle line of the palate, like the barbs of a feather; those in the middle of the mouth are longest. The base of each plate is embedded in the substance of the membrane that covers the palate, while its edge forms a loose fringe, composed of filters or pliant bris tles. The vast mouth being opened, water is taken in; and the small animals which enter with being retained for food, the water is allowed to escape by the sides of the mouth.
h c tongue is a soft thick mass, not extending beyond the fine]: of the mouth. The gullet of whales is very narrow; it is said not to be more than an inch and a 'half in diameter even in a large whale, so that only very small animals can pass through it The head of whales occupies from a third to a fourth of the whole length. The skull is un symmetrical, the right side being larger than the left. The flesh is red, firm, and coarse. The skin is naked, with the exception of a few bristles about the jaws, and its surface is moistened by an oily fluid. The lower surface of the true skin extends into a thick layer of blubber. an open network of fibers in which fat is held. The blubbler is from a foot to two feet in thickness. the whole mass in a large whale sometimes weighing more than thirty tons, and serves the purpose of keeping the animal warm, as well as of making the specific gravity of the whole body much lighter than it would otherwise be, and of resisting the pressnre of the water in the great depths to which it often descends.
The skin of whales is always infested with parasites; mollusks adhere to it; certain kinds of e,irrhopods burrow- and live iu it; and crustaceans, such as the whale-louse (q.v.) attach themselves to it, and feed upon it.
It has been attempted to calculate'the age of whales from the transverse lines on the plates of baleen, and in thisway it has been computed that they attain the age of 800 or 000 years, each transverse line being assumed to indicate an annual cheek of growth. hut it is evident that there is no good ground for the assumption on which such calcula tion proceeds.
In the genus balana there is no dorsal fin, nor elevation of the back corresponding to it, as in some of the family. The belly is smooth, not plaited, as in the other genera of the family. The most important species, and indeed the most important of all the te whales, isthatknown as the Rior WHALE, or GREENLAED WHALE (B. snysfieetrl8). It inhabits the seas of the northern parts of the world, and abounds chiefly in the arctic regions. It is sometimes seen on the coasts of Britain, and even in more southern lati tudes. It attains a size of sixty or seventy feet in length. The body is thickest a little behind the flippers, or pectoral fins, tapering conically toward the tail, and slightly toward the head. The tail is five or six feet long, and from twenty to twenty-five feet broad; formed of two diverging lobes, broadest almost where they are united, but with a slight indentation. The pectoral fins are eight or nine feet long, and four or five feet broad. The mouth is fifteen or sixteen feet long. The eyes, which are situated on the sides of the head, about a foot above and rather behind the angels of the mouth, are not larger than those of an ox; but the sense of sight seems to be acute, at least in the water. The iris is white. The blow-holes are situated on the most elevated part of the head; they are from eight to twelve inches long, but of comparatively small breadth. The upper parts are velvety black, the lower parts white. The upper parts, in very old whales, sometimes become piebald, the black being mixed with white and gray. The period of gestation is uncertain ; one young one is produced at a birth, and is from ten to fourteen feet in length when born. The mother displays great affection for her off spring, of which whale-fishers sometimes take undue advantage, harpooning the young one—itself of little value—in order to secure the mother. Suckling is performed at the surface of the water, and the mother rolls from side to side, that she and the young one may be able to breathe in turn. The usual rate of progress in swimming is about four or five miles an hour, and whales often swim not far beneath the surface of the water, with the mouth wide open to take in water from which to sift food. The whale is capa ble, however, of swimming with much greater rapidity, and when harpooned, it often descends to a great depth in a few seconds. Its tail is extremely powerful, and a single blow of it is sufficient to destroy a large boat, or toss it and its crew into the air, so that the whale-fishery is attended with uo little danger. Whales usually come to the surface to breathe at intervals of eight or ten minutes, but they are capable of remaining under water for half an hour or more. When tliy come up to breathe, they generally re main on the surface about two minutes, during which they blow eight or nine times, end then descend. The noise which they make in blowing is very loud, and the spout of spray ejected ascends several yards into the air, appearing at a distance like a puff of smoke. They often assume, as if in sport, a vertical position, with the head down, and flap the surface of the wstcr with the tail, making a sound which is heard two or three miles off. The Greenland whale is not properly gregarious, being generally found alone or in pairs, except when numbers are attracted to particular feeding-grounds, as is sometimes the case in the bays and inlets of northern coasts.