largest sperm whale ever

[citation needed], The specific name macrocephalus is Latinized from the Greek makrokphalos ( 'big-headed'), from makros () + kephal (). Ambergris, a solid waxy waste product sometimes present in its digestive system, is still highly valued as a fixative in perfumes, among other uses. Both names are still used, although most recent authors now accept macrocephalus as the valid name, limiting catodon's status to a lesser synonym. [citation needed], The scientific genus name Physeter comes from the Greek phystr (), meaning 'blowpipe, blowhole (of a whale)', or as a pars pro toto 'whale'. Between the 8 th January and the 25 th February 2016, the largest sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus mortality event ever recorded in the North Sea occurred with 30 sperm whales stranding in five countries within six weeks. How does pressure change with ocean depth? [10] Males reach their full size at about age 50. [103] This oil is a mixture of triglycerides and wax esters. Scientists have found giant squid beaks, as well as other undigested pieces of giant squid, in the stomachs of sperm whalesthe remains of a very large serving of calamari. 4. [242], Sperm whales increase levels of primary production and carbon export by depositing iron-rich faeces into surface waters of the Southern Ocean. [189], A social unit is a group of sperm whales who live and travel together over a period of years. sperm whale's eyes afford good vision and sensitivity to light. [188] Calves may be allowed to suckle from females other than their mothers. [61] Mature males often show scars which seem to be caused by the teeth. [86] More typical dives are around 400 metres (1,310ft) and 35minutes in duration. Most of the sound energy is then reflected off the frontal sac at the cranium and into the melon, whose lens-like structure focuses it. Spermaceti, originally mistakenly identified as the whales' semen, is the semi-liquid, waxy substance found within the whale's head. [citation needed] Between 184,000 and 236,000 sperm whales were killed by the various whaling nations in the 19th century,[241] while in the 20th century, at least 770,000 were taken, the majority between 1946 and 1980. The sperm whale or cachalot[a] (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. (2020, August 28). [126] This multi-pulse click structure allows researchers to measure the whale's spermaceti organ using only the sound of its clicks. The most recent version of ITIS has altered its usage from P. catodon to P. macrocephalus,[33] following L. B. Holthuis and more recent (2008) discussions with relevant experts. [169][170][171] It is thought that the foraging strategy of sperm whales for bioluminescent squids may also explain the presence of these light-emitting pyrosomes in the diet of the sperm whale. ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/facts-about-leviathan-giant-prehistoric-whale-1093329. [159] They feed on several species, notably the giant squid, but also the colossal squid, octopuses, and fish such as demersal rays and sharks,[citation needed] but their diet is mainly medium-sized squid. Sperm whales are prodigious feeders and eat around 3% of their body weight per day. [17] The word cachalot came to English via French from Spanish or Portuguese cachalote, perhaps from Galician/Portuguese cachola 'big head'. [citation needed], The sperm whale's lower jaw is very narrow and underslung. Three whale biologists examine a dead, beached sperm whale. Sperm whales can live 70 years or more.[10][11][12]. Only 8 out of 21 sailors survived to be rescued by other ships. Evolutionary family tree of sperm whales. Upon reaching sexual maturity, males move to higher latitudes, where the water is colder and feeding is more productive. One study, carried out around the Galpagos, found that squid from the genera Histioteuthis (62%), Ancistrocheirus (16%), and Octopoteuthis (7%) weighing between 12 and 650 grams (0.026 and 1.433lb) were the most commonly taken. Below, you'll discover 10 fascinating Leviathan facts. [245] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) regards the sperm whale as being "vulnerable". Like the age-rings in a tree, the teeth build distinct layers of cementum and dentine as they grow. [38] Another view holds that exploitation by overwhaling had virtually no effect on the size of the bull sperm whales, and their size may have actually increased in current times on the basis of density dependent effects. Heptner, V. G.; Nasimovich, A. [60] The teeth are functional, but do not appear to be necessary for capturing or eating squid, as well-fed animals have been found without teeth or even with deformed jaws. Steve takes to the skies to search for the enormous sperm whale. 1. [11][54], The ribs are bound to the spine by flexible cartilage, which allows the ribcage to collapse rather than snap under high pressure. Sperm whales are the biggest creature with teeth on Earth; the blue whale is much bigger, but is toothless. A size comparison showing an average-sized human swimming next to a megalodon. It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia. Jefferson, T. A., Stacey, P. J., & Baird, R. W. (1991). The only physeteroids extant today are the pygmy sperm whale, the dwarf sperm whale, and the full-sized sperm whale that we all know and love; other long-extinct members of the breed include Acrophyseter and Brygmophyseter, which looked positively petite next to Leviathan and its sperm whale descendants. [18], The term is retained in the Russian word for the animal, kashalot (), as well as in many other languages. There are no ciliary muscles. Some authors consider the killer whales "usually" behaviorally dominant over sperm whales but express that the two species are "fairly evenly matched", with the killer whales' greater aggression, more considerable biting force for their size and predatory prowess more than compensating for their smaller size. Outside breeding grounds, slow clicks are rarely heard, and usually near the surface. The sperm whale's distinctive shape comes from its very large, block-shaped head, which can be one-quarter to one-third of the animal's length. They prefer ice-free waters over 1,000 metres (3,300ft) deep. The left passage runs alongside the spermaceti organ and goes directly to the blowhole, whilst the right passage runs underneath the spermaceti organ and passes air through a pair of phonic lips and into the distal sac at the very front of the nose. Section 2. The proportion of wax esters in the spermaceti organ increases with the age of the whale: 3851% in calves, 5887% in adult females, and 7194% in adult males. [11] Other threats include ingestion of marine debris, ocean noise, and chemical pollution. [235] Sperm whaling increased until the mid-nineteenth century. But strike a member of the harem school, and her companions swim around her with every token of concern, sometimes lingering so near her and so long, as themselves to fall a prey. [212], Sperm whales can suffer from parasites. Other large sperm whales have been measured at 59 feet (18 meters) and weighed 53 tons. Many of these stranded alive but died subsequently. These fossils include Ferecetotherium, Idiorophus, Diaphorocetus, Aulophyseter, Orycterocetus, Scaldicetus, Placoziphius, Zygophyseter and Acrophyseter. [3] From that date until 1946, the population appears to have partially recovered as whaling activity decreased, but after the Second World War, the population declined even further, to 33 per cent of the pre-whaling population. Length: 46 feet (14 meters)Interesting fact: Can dive up to 1,000 meters, holding breath for 5-15 minutes. One of the most giant sperm whales recorded was measured by the International Whaling Commission in 1933 and is documented to be 79ft long (24 meters). [175] One study showing that sound pressure levels on the squid are more than an order of magnitude below levels required for debilitation, and therefore, precluding acoustic [122] Sperm whale vocalization is a learned behavior that is clan specific. [105] The speed of sound in spermaceti is 2,684m/s (at 40kHz, 36C), making it nearly twice as fast as in the oil in a dolphin's melon. [39] Myoglobin, which stores oxygen in muscle tissue, is much more abundant than in terrestrial animals. [181], Females become fertile at around 9 years of age. The sperm whale is dark blue-gray or brownish, with white patches on the belly. [88][89][90] The spermaceti organ may also play a role by adjusting buoyancy (see below). Spermaceti oil was important in public lighting (for example, in lighthouses, where it was used in the United States until 1862, when it was replaced by lard oil, in turn replaced by petroleum) and for lubricating the machines (such as those used in cotton mills) of the Industrial Revolution. [79], In 1959, the heart of a 22 metric-ton (24 short-ton) male taken by whalers was measured to be 116 kilograms (256lb), about 0.5% of its total mass. [47][38][45], An individual measuring 20.7 metres (68ft) was reported from a Soviet whaling fleet near the Kuril Islands in 1950 and is cited by some authors as the largest accurately measured. [160] Some prey may be taken accidentally while eating other items. The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale in the world. Spermaceti, the fine waxy oil produced by sperm whales, was in high demand. [3] By 1880, it had declined by an estimated 29 percent. [91] The arterial retia mirabilia are extraordinarily well-developed. [253][254] The fearsome reputation perpetuated by Melville was based on bull whales' ability to fiercely defend themselves from attacks by early whalers, smashing whaling boats and, occasionally, attacking and destroying whaling ships. This back and forth reflection which happens on the scale of a few milliseconds creates a multi-pulse click structure. [232], There were only a few recorded instances during the first few decades (17091730s) of offshore sperm whaling. [36], The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale and is among the most sexually dimorphic of all cetaceans. 11721174 in, Constantine, R. "Folklore and Legends", p. 449 in, "Sperm whale designated Connecticut state animal,", International Union for Conservation of Nature, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Physiology of underwater diving Marine mammals, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area, the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T41755A160983555.en, "First long-term behavioral records from Cuvier's beaked whales (, "Census of Marine Life From the Edge of Darkness to the Black Abyss", "The monopulsed nature of sperm whale clicks", "Sperm Whale "Voices" Used to Gauge Whales' Sizes", "A complete phylogeny of the whales, dolphins and even-toed hoofed mammals (Cetartiodactyla)", "Phylogenetic relationships of artiodactyls and cetaceans as deduced from the comparison of cytochrome b and 12S RNA mitochondrial sequences", "Relationships of Cetacea (Artiodactyla) Among Mammals: Increased Taxon Sampling Alters Interpretations of Key Fossils and Character Evolution", "List of Marine Mammal Species and Subspecies", "Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna", "An examination of the current knowledge on the stock structure of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) worldwide", "Sperm whaling on the Solanders Grounds and in Fiordland A maritime historian's perspective". [81] The arteries that leave the aortic arch are positioned symmetrically. [233], American sperm whaling soon spread from the east coast of the American colonies to the Gulf Stream, the Grand Banks, West Africa (1763), the Azores (1765), and the South Atlantic (1770s). Retrieved 10-05-2014. [218] Most sperm whale fossils date from the Miocene period, 23to5 million years ago. It is analogous to the melon found in other toothed whales. They will spend much of the time rubbing against each other. Named after the creamy sperm-like fluid found in . [137], They are relatively abundant from the poles to the equator and are found in all the oceans. 30 teeth of the sperm whale can be used for ivory. [3] However, the recovery from centuries of commercial whaling is a slow process, particularly in the South Pacific, where the toll on breeding-age males was severe. By Tim Vernimmen Published April 30, 2019 7 min read The blue whale is not only the largest animal alive today, it is the largest one that has ever lived. In terms of length, the fin whale is very similar to the blue whale. [38][48] It has been estimated to weigh 80 tonnes (79 long tons; 88 short tons). The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), on the other hand, may not be the biggest whale, but it has the biggest brain to have ever existed on Earth. They conjectured that sperm whales use vision to hunt squid, either by detecting silhouettes from below or by detecting bioluminescence. Like walrus ivory, sperm whale ivory has two distinct layers. The knobbly surface reflects sound waves that come through the spermaceti organ from the phonic lips. This damage may indicate that sperm whales are susceptible to decompression sickness, and sudden surfacing could be lethal to them. The orca's (Orcinus orca) size of up to 31 feet (9.4 meters) makes it the largest dolphin. [29] Experts soon realised that just one such species exists, although there has been debate about whether this should be named P. catodon or P. macrocephalus, two of the names used by Linnaeus. [42][45][38] An 18 meters (59ft) long male sperm whale is estimated to have weighed 57 tonnes (56 long tons; 63 short tons). The average fin whale will grow to be 27.5 meters or 90 feet long. In the late 18th century and early 19th century, sperm whaling ships sailed to the equatorial Pacific, the Indian Ocean, Japan, the coast of Arabia, Australia and New Zealand. An incident was filmed from a long-line trawler: a killer whale pod was systematically taking fish caught on the trawler's long lines (as the lines were being pulled into the ship) when a male sperm whale appeared to repeatedly charge the killer whale pod in an attempt to drive them away; it was speculated by the film crew that the sperm whale was attempting to access the same fish. [223], The traditional view has been that Mysticeti (baleen whales) and Odontoceti (toothed whales) arose from more primitive whales early in the Oligocene period, and that the super-family Physeteroidea, which contains the sperm whale, dwarf sperm whale, and pygmy sperm whale, diverged from other toothed whales soon after that, over 23million years ago. The largest individual killer whale ever recorded was a male that measured 9.8 m (32 ft 1 in) from head to tail and weighed more than 10 tonnes (22,050 lb) - nearly as heavy as two fully grown African elephants!

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