CETACEA—THE WHALES.
Whale Attacked by Bloodheads.
THE Whale family, or the Cetacea, are really aquatic animals, although they resemble Fishes externally. Their whole structure—their lungs instead of gills for breathing, their heart, and their manner of feeding their young, all show that they belong to the Mammals. Only, instead of being organized for living on land, they are better suited for the water. Some of them reach an enormous size, and are the giants of the animal kingdom.
Their body, more or less spindle-shaped, is terminated in a tail which is very broad and forms a fin. This fin or tail is not vertical, as in Fishes, and it is the principal agent for moving these living masses.
On the back of most of the Cetacea there is another fin, which is merely a part of the skin. They have no hind fins, and their great front fins or arms are of little use for locomotion through the water, but serve to balance their movements.
The skin of the different members of the Whale family is generally quite hairless, which very rarely happens in the case of other Mammalia. The largest of other animals are small when compared with many of the Cetacea. These great creatures swim quite rapidly, however. Because of the air contained in their chest, and the great quantity of grease with which their tissues are charged, and the great strength of their tail in pushing them forward, they move easily through the waves, looking for the Fish, Molluscs and Crustacea, which they eat in enormous quantities.
The Whale family is first divided into two classes, the Blowing Cetacea, and the Herbiverous Cetacea. The Herbiverous class includes the Manatees and the Duyongs who live on the weedy, shallow shores around the islands and mouths of rivers, and feed on the sea-weed.
The class of Blowing Cetacea includes the Whale proper, the Rorquals and the great Cachalot or Sperm Whale, in which the head constitutes in itself one-third, or even one-half of the total length of the creature, the Whalebone Whale; and a second division containing the Dolphin, the Porpoise, Narwhal, etc., in which the head is in the usual proportion to the body.