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Tooth of a sperm whale. A tabua (Fijian:) is a polished tooth of a sperm whale that is an important cultural item in Fijian society. They were traditionally given as gifts for atonement or esteem (called sevusevu), and were important in negotiations between rival chiefs.
The designs on the pieces varied greatly as well, though they often had whaling scenes on them. For example, Herman Melville, in Moby-Dick, refers to "lively sketches of whales and whaling-scenes, graven by the fishermen themselves on Sperm Whale-teeth, or ladies' busks wrought out of the Right Whale-bone, and other skrimshander articles". [6]
The groups near to or under the sea ice have a degree of protection, as the killer whale's large dorsal fin, up to 2 m in length, impedes their movement under the ice and does not allow them to get sufficiently close to the breathing holes in the ice. [39] Beluga whale behavior under killer whale predation makes them vulnerable to hunters.
The narwhal was scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 publication Systema Naturae. [5] The word "narwhal" comes from the Old Norse nárhval, meaning 'corpse-whale', which possibly refers to the animal's grey, mottled skin and its habit of remaining motionless when at the water's surface, a behaviour known as "logging" that usually happens in the summer.
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Engraved on the tooth is a picture of the ship Francis, which artist Fred Myrick served on during the early 1800s. Now, sperm whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. So, in ...
Unlike human teeth, which are composed mostly of enamel on the portion of the tooth outside of the gum, whale teeth have cementum outside the gum. Only in larger whales, where the cementum is worn away on the tip of the tooth, does enamel show. [17] There is only a single set of functional teeth (monophyodont dentition). [19]
To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and remain as a food source for the whale. Baleen is similar to bristles and consists of keratin, the same substance found in human fingernails, skin and hair. Baleen is a skin ...