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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.
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]
Humpback whale breach sequence. A breach or a lunge is a leap out of the water, also known as cresting. The distinction between the two is fairly arbitrary: cetacean researcher Hal Whitehead defines a breach as any leap in which at least 40% of the animal's body clears the water, and a lunge as a leap with less than 40% clearance. [2]
Scientists studying the sperm whales that live around the Caribbean island of Dominica have described for the first time the basic elements of how they might be talking to each other, in an effort ...
South Sea Whalers Boiling Blubber, by Sir Oswald Brierly, circa 1876. State Library of New South Wales.. Sperm whaling is the human practice of hunting sperm whales, the largest toothed whale and the deepest-diving marine mammal species, for the oil, meat and bone that can be extracted from the cetaceans' bodies.
But National Geographic says, "Sperm whales are known to dive as deep as 3,280 feet in search of squid to eat. These giant mammals must hold their breath for up to 90 minutes on such dives."
Baleen whales have two blowholes positioned in a V-shape, while toothed whales have only one blowhole. [6] The blowhole of a sperm whale , a toothed whale, is located left of centre in the frontal area of the snout, and is actually its left nostril, while the right nostril lacks an opening to the surface and its nasal passage is otherwise well ...
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