@ BY T. P. O. MENZIES

The Single Tusk of the Narwhal

ie the order CETACEA, the narwhal is in a class by itself. People often call it
the SEA UNICORN, because of its single “horn”, a feature not to be seen in
any other form of mammal.

The NARWHAL is seldom seen south of latitude 65 degrees, north, and the horn
or tusk, which is simply a monstrous tooth, is quite a farity. There is one, however,
which may be seen in the Vancouver Museum. Our specimen is slightly over
eight feet long.

This mammal, known to scientists as the MONODON MONOCEROS, is the lone
member of its species, it has no close relations. It is included in the family DEL-
FINIDAE, or Dolphins, its nearest relation is doubtless the Beluga or White Whale.

Both sexes develop a single pair of teeth in the upper jaw, but in the female both
teeth remain throughout life imbedded in cavities of the bone of the jaw, so that
they are practically toothless. In the male, the right tooth remains concealed as in
the female, but the left one is immensely developed, projecting horizontally forwards
from the head in the form of a cylindrical and slightly tapering ivory tusk, the surface
of which is conspicuously marked by spiral grooves and ridges, invariably running in
a sinistral direction, that is to say, toward the left. Occasionally individuals develop
two of these tusks, though rarely, and in such case both invariably develop the left
hand twist of the grooves.

Genus Monodon.

The Narwhal. (Monodon monoceros).

This unusual appendage is composed of the finest close-grained white ivory, which
is held in great esteem by Chinese ivory-carvers, one reason being that the spirally
marked surfaces are duplicated by spiral grain within, so that the liability to splitting,
as the ivory of the elephant tusk has a tendency to split, is reduced to a minimum.
The diameter of the tusk of the narwhal, however, limits its use to the creation of
small carvings.

The head of this denizen of the deep is comparatively small and round: the snout
is not drawn out as in the case of common dolphins. There is no dorsal fin, and the
two flippers are small, and broad in proportion to their length. The young dolphin
is of a deeper bluish-gray than the adult, which is of a mottled gray-white on the
upper half of the body, and almost white below. The length of the body ranges from
12 to 16 feet exclusive of the remarkable tusk. Its principal food consists of various
species of cephalopods, small fishes and crustaceans.

This fine and rare specimen on display in the Vancouver Museum was secured from
a whaler who cruised the Arctic seas by the shipbuilding firm of Menzies and Sons of
Leith, Edinburgh, some 100 years ago, when they were a famous firm for the whaling
vessels which they built. It had been handed down in the family until quite recently.
Mrs. Susan Page, a daughter of John T. Menzies, graciously presented it to our
local museum.

Together with a single specimen now in the Provincial Museum, the two are
believed to be the only specimens in British Columbia.

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