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The sperm whale or cachalot [a] (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator.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.
James Bartley (1870–1909) is the central figure in a late nineteenth-century story according to which he was swallowed whole by a sperm whale. He was found still living days later in the stomach of the whale, which was dead from harpooning. The story originated of an anonymous form, began to appear in American newspapers.
Spermaceti is taken from the spermaceti organ (yellow) and junk (orange) within the sperm whale's head. Raw spermaceti is liquid within the head of the sperm whale, and is said to have a smell similar to raw milk. [8] It is composed mostly of wax esters (chiefly cetyl palmitate) and a smaller proportion of triglycerides. [9]
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A humpback whale straining water through its baleen after lunging. Rorquals feed on plankton by a technique called lunge feeding. [24] Lunge feeding could be regarded as a kind of inverted suction feeding, during which a whale takes a huge gulp of water, which is then filtered through the baleen. [24]
Sperm whales produce their clicks by forcing air through an organ in their heads called the spermaceti, and these sounds can be as loud as 230 decibels — louder than a rocket launch and capable ...
The sperm whale respiratory system has adapted to cope with drastic pressure changes when diving. The flexible ribcage allows lung collapse, reducing nitrogen intake, and metabolism can decrease to conserve oxygen. [28] [12] Between dives, the sperm whale surfaces to breathe for about eight minutes before diving again. [29]