Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
Spermaceti is derived from Medieval Latin sperma ceti, meaning "whale sperm" (from Latin sperma meaning "semen" or "seed", and ceti, the genitive form of "whale"). The substance was initially believed to be whale semen, due to its appearance when fresh. The substance is also the origin of the name of the sperm whale. [5] [6] [7]
The whale is an albino sperm whale, considered by Melville to be the largest type of whale, and is partly based on the historically attested bull whale Mocha Dick. Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories includes the story of "How the Whale got in his Throat".
For dramatic effect, Melville asserts inaccurately that the sperm whale is the largest creature on Earth. While the blue whale, the true largest whale, was not well-observed at that time, the fin-back whale, the second-largest whale species, was known to whalers and occasionally hunted. The sperm whale is the third-largest whale species. II.
Sperm whales are classified as endangered in the U.S. and are rarely sighted in the region, according to Engleby, marking this presence as a "rare event." The last recorded sperm whale stranding ...
Sperm whales, the largest of the toothed whales, communicate using bursts of clicking noises - called codas - sounding a bit like Morse code. A new analysis of years of vocalizations by sperm ...
Sperm whale and bottlenose whale. The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest species of toothed whale, with adult bulls (males) growing to be about 15–18 m (49–59 ft) long, and weighing about 45–70 metric tons (44–69 long tons; 50–77 short tons).
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 ...