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The gray whale. See Gray whale, under Gray.

A spear or javelin used to strike and kill large fish, as whales; a harping iron. It consists of a long shank, with a broad, fiat, triangular head, sharpened at both edges, and is thrown by hand, or discharged from a gun. Harpoon fork, a kind of hayfork, consisting of bar with hinged barbs at one end a loop for a rope…

ch other; one of the bones in the hand of man is the homologue of that in the paddle of a whale.

A circle, or combination of circles, of thin whalebone, metal, or other elastic material, used for expanding the skirts of ladies' dresses; crinoline; -- used chiefly in the plural. Though stiff with hoops, and armed with ribs of whale. Pope.

A fleshy protuberance on the back of an animal, as a camel or whale.

Any whale of the genus Megaptera, characterized by a hump or bunch on the back. Several species are known. The most common ones in the North Atlantic are Megaptera longimana of Europe, and M. osphyia of America; that of the California coasts is M. versabilis.

A voracious, toothed whale of the genus Orca, of which several species are known.

The carcass of a whale after the blubber has been removed. [Written also crang and kreng.]

ich the abdomen is small or rudimentary and the legs are often reduced to five pairs. The whale louse, or Cyamus, and Caprella are examples.

ried by horsemen, and often decorated with a small flag; also, a spear or harpoon used by whalers and fishermen. A braver soldier never couched lance. Shak.

quickly, as with a lash; to beat, or beat upon, with a motion like that of a lash; as, a whale lashes the sea with his tail. And big waves lash the frighted shores. Dryden.

The whale, or a great whale. Milton.

eropods, common in the Arctic and Antarctic seas. It contributes to the food of the right whales.

they are sighted at an object. -- Line tub (Naut.), a tub in which the line carried by a whaleboat is coiled. -- Mason and Dixon's line, the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, as run before the Revolution (1764-1767) by two English astronomers named Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. In an extended sense…

An upright piece of round timber, in a whaleboat, over which a turn of the line is taken when it is running out too fast. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

ra; -- called also river mussel. See Naiad, and Unio. Mussel digger (Zoöl.), the grayback whale. See Gray whale, under Gray.

and is largely eaten by the whitefish. The marine species form part of the food of right whales.

Any right whale, or whalebone whale. See Cetacea.

he upper jaw like a horn, whence it is called also sea unicorn, unicorn fish, and unicorn whale. Sometimes two horns are developed, side by side.

A subdivision of Cetacea, including the sperm whale, dolphins, etc.; the toothed whales.