Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The sperm whale is a pelagic mammal with a worldwide range, and will migrate seasonally for feeding and breeding. [ 5 ] Females and young males live together in groups, while mature males (bulls) live solitary lives outside of the mating season. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young.
The dwarf sperm whale is a small whale, 2 to 2.7 m (6 ft 7 in to 8 ft 10 in) and 136 to 272 kg (300 to 600 lb), that has a grey coloration, square head, small jaw, and robust body. Its appearance is very similar to the pygmy sperm whale, distinguished mainly by the position of the dorsal fin on the body–nearer the middle in the dwarf sperm ...
The pygmy sperm whale was first described by naturalist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville in 1838. He based this on the head of an individual washed up on the coasts of Audierne in France in 1784, which was then stored in the Muséum d'histoire naturelle. He recognized it as a type of sperm whale and assigned it to the same genus as the sperm ...
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). The two kogiid species are much smaller, around 2.5 to 3.5 m (8 ft 2 in to 11 ft 6 in) in length, and weighing ...
Livyatan is an extinct genus of macroraptorial sperm whale containing one known species: L. melvillei. The genus name was inspired by the biblical sea monster Leviathan, and the species name by Herman Melville, the author of the famous novel Moby-Dick about a white bull sperm whale. Herman Melville often referred to whales as "Leviathans" in ...
Kogiidae is a family comprising at least two extant species of Cetacea, the pygmy (Kogia breviceps) and dwarf (K. sima) sperm whales. As their common names suggest, they somewhat resemble sperm whales, with squared heads and small lower jaws, but are much smaller, with much shorter skulls and more notable dorsal fins than sperm whales. [ 2 ]
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. Sperm whales are prized for the sperm oil, a waxy secretion that was especially popular as a lubricant and illuminant during the ...
Cetacea (/ sɪˈteɪʃə /; from Latin cetus ' whale ', from Ancient Greek κῆτος (kêtos) ' huge fish, sea monster ') [ 3 ] is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the suborder Whippomorpha that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size ...