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These giant mammals must hold their breath for up to 90 minutes on such dives." Interestingly, sperm whales have the largest brain of any creature known to have lived on Earth.
The sperm whale's ivory-like teeth were often sought by 18th- and 19th-century whalers, who used them to produce inked carvings known as scrimshaw. 30 teeth of the sperm whale can be used for ivory. Each of these teeth, up to 20 cm (8 in) and 8 cm (3 in) across, are hollow for the first half of their length.
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]
Whales evolved from land-living mammals, and must regularly surface to breathe air, although they can remain underwater for long periods of time. Some species, such as the sperm whale, can stay underwater for up to 90 minutes. [2] They have blowholes (modified nostrils) located on top of their heads, through which air is taken in and expelled.
This spout, known as the blow, is often visible from far away as a white splash, which can also be caused by water resting on top of the blowhole. Spout shapes differ among species, which facilitates identification. This is followed by inhaling fresh air into the lungs. A humpback whale's lungs can hold about 5,000 litres (1,300 US gal) of air.
Many species can comfortably hold their breath for over 100 minutes including Elephant seals, Sperm whales, and Weddel seals. For land mammals, the surprise champion is--get ready for it--the sloth !
The sperm whale has a particularly pronounced melon; this is called the spermaceti organ and contains the eponymous spermaceti, hence the name "sperm whale". Even the long tusk of the narwhal is a vice-formed tooth. In many toothed whales, the depression in their skull is due to the formation of a large melon and multiple, asymmetric air bags.
Beachgoers were shocked after this enormous sperm whale washed up on the sand. The 40ft (12 metres) long creature appeared on the beach in Sarangani, Philippines on Sunday morning (November 24).