After the death stroke. The lance has penetrated the lungs and the whale is spouting blood.
A second specimen had a large swelling on the ventral ridge of the peduncle, which, upon being opened, proved to be a large capsular tumor about one foot in depth and of a like diameter. The skin upon the snout of a third individual was drawn into small circular patches, leaving large sections of the blubber exposed.
The entire body of the devilfish is thickly infested with “whale lice” and barnacles. The former resembles a diminutive crab and by means of the sharp claws on its feet fastens itself firmly on the soft skin of the whale. Wherever there is an injury or abrasion of any sort, quantities of these parasites cluster and breed.
On the snout and top of the head the skin is usually roughened, or cornified, much like the “bonnet” of the right whale, this being caused by the attacks of the whale lice. If one of these parasites is placed upon the hand it begins slowly to raise the body upon the front legs, driving its claws into the flesh, and in a short time will be firmly fastened and can only be removed with difficulty. The whale lice are crustaceans and have been named Cyamus scammoni after Captain Charles M. Scammon, who first discovered them upon the gray whales of California.
Besides whale lice the devilfish are the hosts of hard, shell-like barnacles known as Cryptolepas rhachianectei. These imbed themselves deeply on all parts of the body and sometimes are found in large clusters. Whenever a barnacle becomes detached a circular, grayish pit remains; this becomes white as the wound heals, and the scar is exactly like that produced on the humpback by the barnacle Coronula diadema. Without doubt these parasites cause the whale a great deal of annoyance and the animals probably rub themselves against rocks in endeavors to scrape them off.
The hairs on the devilfish are longer and are distributed more uniformly over the entire head than in the case of any other whale. This is an exceedingly interesting and important fact and, together with many other anatomical characters, indicates that the gray whale is a very primitive species which is more like its ancient, fossil ancestors than any other existing large cetacean.
The presence of hairs upon whales and dolphins is evidence that when the animals lived upon the earth, millions of years ago, they must have been entirely covered with hair as are ordinary land mammals. The hair of most whales is confined to the snout and chin but in the devilfish it is distributed in irregular rows over the top and sides of the head.
The hair on cetaceans is in a degenerate condition and does not possess at the base a gland (sebaceous) for the secretion of oily matter to supply it with nourishment and lubrication as in land mammals. It seems probable that the loss of hair in cetaceans is largely due to their aquatic life, because the blubber performs the function of hair in keeping the animals warm and an outer covering is no longer needed; also most land mammals need hair to protect their tender skins from bruises and abrasions but for a whale this is unnecessary.
The manatee, or sea cow, an entirely aquatic mammal, has lost nearly all hair, and in the walrus it has become very much reduced; the latter animal spends almost all its time in the water, coming out but comparatively seldom to sleep upon the smooth ice; and in addition to the blubber it has developed an exceedingly tough skin. It is true that seals all possess blubber, and some an additional coat of thick soft fur, but they are not as yet exclusively aquatic; although much of their life is spent in the water, they still come upon the land for extended periods during the breeding season and need hair for protection from the rough rocks upon which they rest, rather than for warmth.