Chapters 102-105 Summary

Ishmael returns to his description of the anatomy of the whale. Here he presents the measurements of the skeleton of the average sperm whale. Ishmael claims he once saw the skeleton of a whale and took the opportunity to measure the beast. He states the average sperm whale is between 85 and 90 feet in length with the skill and jaw taking up 20 feet of this length. Next, Ishmael talks about the fossil records of whales, which lived hundreds of years ago.

In the final chapter of this series, Ishmael seeks to determine if the whale is shrinking in size over the years and if the species will one day become extinct. Ishmael answers no to both of these questions. He points to evidence that whales have indeed grown larger instead of shrinking over the years. Ishmael also says he doubts the species...