|
common
name |
Sperm
Whale |
| scientific
name |
Physeter
macrocephalus |
| range |
circumglogal,
tropical to polar |
viewing
hotspots |
Azores,
Dominica |
| habitat |
open
ocean, and deep coastal |
| size |
to
60 feet (18m), 60 tons |
| diet |
giant squid |
| trivia |
8 inch long
conical teeth; "Moby Dick" was a rogue, bad-tempered sperm
whale; one slit-like blowhole on left front corner of snout; can hold
its breath up to 2 hours |
|
Capable of diving to
extreme depths (up to a mile or more beneath the surface) in pursuit
of the giant squid- their favorite food- sperm whales are the world’s
largest carnivore and the largest of the toothed whales (the
Odontocetes). Males grow to 60 feet in length and almost 60 tons,
females approximately 40 feet and 30 tons. Contrary to Melville's
whale tale, sperm whales are not itching to charge and ram your
boat. (Your odds may improve, however, if you've harpooned one :)
Though
hunted extensively around the world in times past (in large part for
the fine quality oil found in their head's spermaceti organ, a
tube-filled cavity which may aid in buoyancy and focusing sonar
clicks), the "cachalot" is one of the few great whales
with a healthy world-wide population similar to pre-whaling numbers,
estimated at about one million. They are found in all the world’s
oceans, and sometimes sighted in large groups of 50 or more. Science
has dubbed this leviathan Physeter macrocephalus, meaning "big
head". In fact, an adult bull's mammoth block-likehead may be
up to 1/3 its body length. Two much smaller species of sperm
whales are recognized, the Pygmy sperm whale and the Dwarf Sperm
Whale, though sightings are quite rare.
Sperm whales exhibit social, and sexual,
segregation. Adult males are usually solitary and spend much of
their time feeding in polar waters north and south, while groups of
females and calves congregate in warmer waters closer to the
equator.
|
|
| KEYWORDS
sperm whale, sperm whales, cachalot, whale, whales, Physeter macrocephalus,
cetacean, cetaceans, marine mammal, marine
mammals, physeteridae, toothed, underwater, tail, flukes, spout, photo,
photos, photograph, photographs, picture, pictures, stock, photography,
marine |
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