Sperm Whale

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Sperm whale
Image:Sperm whale1b.jpg Scarred Giant (detail)— Artist: Chris Harman Image:Sperm whale size.svg Size comparison against an average human
Conservation status
Image:Status iucn3.1 VU.svg Vulnerable (IUCN) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Suborder: Odontoceti Family: Physeteridae Genus: Physeter Species: P. macrocephalus
Binomial name
Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758
Image:Cetacea range map Sperm Whale 4.PNG Sperm whale range (in blue)

The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is the largest toothed animal alive, with adult males measuring up to 20.5 m (67 ft) long.^[2] The whale was named after the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in its head and originally mistaken for sperm. The sperm whale's enormous head and distinctive shape, as well as its central role in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, have led many to describe it as the archetypal whale. Partly because of Melville, the sperm whale is commonly associated with the Leviathan of the bible.

Historically the sperm whale has also been known as the common cachalot. The word cachalot is originally Portuguese (cachalote), probably coming from cachola, a colloquial term for head. Sperm whales were hunted until recently in the Portuguese Atlantic archipelago of the Azores. The sperm whale is also the state animal of Connecticut.

Contents 1 Description 1.1 Spermaceti 1.2 Spouting, and breathing 2 Taxonomy and naming 3 Conservation 3.1 Population and hunting 3.2 Watching sperm whales 4 In the news 4.1 Exploding whales 4.2 Accidents 5 See also 6 Bibliography 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Description

The sperm whale is exceptional for its very large head, particularly in males, which is typically one-third of the animal's length. Indeed, the species name macrocephalus is derived from the Greek for "big head". In contrast to the smooth skin of most other large whales, the skin on the back of the sperm whale is usually knobbly and has been likened to a prune by whale-watching enthusiasts.^[3] They are uniformly grey in colour, though they may appear brown in sunlight; white albino whales have also been reported. The brain of the sperm whale is the largest and heaviest known of any modern or extinct animal (weighing on average 7 kg (15 lb) in a grown male. However, the brain is not large relative to body size.

The blowhole is situated very close to the front of the head and shifted to the whale's left. This gives rise to a distinctive bushy blow angled forward. The sperm whale has no true dorsal fin, instead a series of ridges are present on the caudal third of the back. The largest was called the 'hump' by whalers and is commonly mistaken for a dorsal fin because of its shape.

The fluke is also triangular and very thick. Flukes are lifted very high out of the water before a whale begins a deep dive.

Sperm whales have 20–26 pairs of cone-shaped teeth in their lower jaw, each 8–20 cm (3–8 in) long.^[4] Each tooth can weigh as much as one kilogram. The reason for the existence of the teeth is not known with certainty. It is believed that they are not necessary for feeding on squid and indeed healthy well-fed sperm whales have been found in the wild without teeth. The current scientific consensus is that the teeth may be used for aggression between males of the same species. This hypothesis is consistent with the conic shape and wide spacing of the teeth.^[5] Furthermore bull sperm whales often show scars which seem to be caused by the teeth of other bulls. Rudimentary teeth are also present in the upper jaw, but these rarely open into the mouth.

Sperm whales are amongst the most sexually dimorphic (that is, males and females differ greatly) of all cetaceans. Males are typically 30% to 50% longer (16-18 m, 52–59 ft) than females (12-14 m, 39–46 ft) and are twice as massive (50 000 kg vs. 25 000 kg, 55 short tons vs 27.5 short tons). At birth both males and females are about 4 m (13 feet) in length and mass of 1 000 kg (1 tonne).

Owing to extensive whaling, sperm whale size has decreased dramatically, mostly because the largest males were killed first and most intensively, for they had more spermaceti (spermaceti oil was of great value in the 18th and 19th century - see below). In a Nantucket museum there is a jawbone of a sperm whale which is 5.5 m (18 ft). The jawbone makes up to 20%-25% of the sperm whale's overall body length. Thus this whale might have been 28 m (90 ft) long, a mass of around 133 metric tons (150 short tons). Another evidence of large bulls of the past resides in New Bedford museum, a 5.2 metres (17 ft) jaw of a bull that could have been about 25.6 metres (84 feet) long, with a mass of about 120 tons. In addition, log books found in the Nantucket and Bedford museums are filled with references to bulls that were, considering the amount of oil they yielded, about the same size as these two examples. Today, sperm whale males do not usually exceed 18 m (60 ft) in length and 52 metric tons (57 short tons). The largest sperm whales observed are comparable in size to the fin whale (and smaller than blue whales), making the sperm whale either the second or third largest animal species alive.

Sperm whales are a prime example of a species that has been K-selected, a reproductive strategy associated with very stable environmental conditions that is characterized by a low birth rate, significant parental aid to offspring, slow maturation and high longevity. Females give birth once every four to six years, and the gestation period is at least 12 months and possibly as long as 18 months. Nursing takes place for two to three years. In males, puberty lasts for about ten years between the ages of about 10 and 20. Males continue to grow into their 30s and 40s and only reach their full size when about 50 years old. Sperm whales live for up to 80 years.

The sperm whale holds some natural world records:

1. Largest known toothed mammal ever.^[6]
2. Largest brain of any living creature on Earth. The brain of a mature sperm whale weighs 7 kg (15 pounds), though there have been specimens with 9 kg (20 pound) brains.^[7]
3. Largest living carnivore on Earth.^[8]
4. Deepest diving mammal (found at depths of 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) and can hold its breath for up to 2 hours.^[9]
5. Loudest animal in the world. Sperm whale clicks have a source level exceeding 230 dB re 1 micropascal referenced to a distance of 1 metre.^[10]

In 1820, a sperm whale estimated to be about 25.9 m (85 ft) long attacked a Nantucket whaling ship Essex. Only 8 out of the 20 sailors managed to survive and be rescued by other ships.

According to a 2003 National Geographic article, sperm whales are said to be the loudest of all animals ("about as loud as a rifle shot three feet from your ear").^[11]

[edit] Spermaceti

Main article: Spermaceti

Spermaceti is the semiliquid, waxy substance found in the head of the sperm whale. The name derives from the late Latin sperma ceti (both words actually loaned from Greek) meaning "sperm of the whale" (strictly, "sperm of the sea monster"). The common name for the species is actually an apocopation of Spermaceti Whale. The substance is not, of course, the whale's semen, but it was mistaken for such by early whalers. Spermaceti is found in the spermaceti organ or case in front of and above the skull of the whale and also in the so-called junk which is right at the front of the whale's head just above the upper jaw. The case consists of a soft white, waxy substance saturated with spermaceti. The junk is a more solid substance.

One function of the spermaceti organs is a buoyancy or diving organ. Before diving, cold water is brought through the organ and the wax is solidified . The increase in specific density generates a down force (approx 40 kg equiv) and allows the whale effortless sinking. During the chase in deep levels (max 3,000m) the stored oxygen is consumed and excess heat melts the spermaceti. Now only hydrodynamic forces (by swimming) keep the whale down before effortlessly surfacing.

Hypotheses on further functions exist: One ^[12] incidentally discussed in Moby-Dick by Melville, is that the case evolved as a kind of battering ram for use in fights between males. This hypothesis is consistent with the well-documented sinking of the ships Essex and Ann Alexander due to attacks by sperm whales estimated to weigh only one-fifth as much as the ships.

Another possibility is that the case is used as an aid to echolocation (see melon). The shape of the organ at any given time is likely to focus or widen the beam of emitted sound. ^[13] The sperm whale actually has two nostrils - one external nostril, forming the blow hole, and one internal nostril pressing against the bag-like spermaceti container.

A hypothesis pertaining to the echolocation abilities of these animals holds that the combination of the shape of the whale's skull, the highly variable geometry (in three dimensions) of the muscle-sheathed spermaceti container, and the presence of this "internal nostril" may endow the sperm whale with astounding powers of sound production - not only being able to echolocate with high fidelity, but to produce other effects with sound waves/ mechanical energy as well. For example, it is postulated that sperm whales, ungainly and ponderous swimmers, may need "something extra" to capture the agile-swimming squid they eat, and the ability to stun or even kill such prey with a burst of sound would "fit the bill". However, so far, this hypothesis remains only intriguing speculation.

Spermaceti was much sought after by 18th-, 19th- and 20th century whalers. The substance found a variety of commercial applications, such as watch oil, automatic transmission fluid, lubricant for photographic lenses and delicate high-altitude instruments, cosmetics, additives in motor oils, glycerine, rust-proofing compounds, detergent, chemical fibres, vitamins and 70 or more pharmaceutical compounds.

[edit] Spouting, and breathing

Odontoceti (toothed whales) breathe air at the surface of the water through a single, s-shaped blowhole. The blowhole is located on the left side of the front of the head. They spout (breathe) 3–5 times per minute at rest, but the rate increases to 6–7 times per minute after a dive. The blow is a noisy, single stream that rises up to 15 m (50 ft) above the surface of the water and points forward and to the left of the whale at a 45° angle.

[edit] Taxonomy and naming

The sperm whale is one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in 1758 in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae; he recognised four species in the Physeter genus.^[14] Experts soon realised that just one such species exists. In most modern publications the sperm whale is classified as the sole species in the family Physeteridae (and thus the only species in its genus). The sperm whale family is sometimes treated as a superfamily, Physeteroidea.^[15] This superfamily contains only two other species—the pygmy sperm whale and the dwarf sperm whale. These two whales belong to the family Kogiidae.

Mead and Brownell^[16] however, list all three species in the family Kogiidae, give the sperm whale the binomial name Physeter catodon and dispense with the superfamily.

The following is an extract from Melville's Moby-Dick, in which he expatiates about the naming and common lore surrounding the sperm whale:

“	This whale, among the English of old vaguely known as Trumpa whale, and the Physeter whale, and the Anvil Headed whale, is the present Cachalot of the French, the Pottfisch of the Germans, and the Macrocephalus of the Long Words. ... It is chiefly with his name that I now have to do. Philologically considered, it is absurd. Some centuries ago, when the sperm whale was almost wholly unknown in his proper individuality, and when his oil was only accidentally obtained from the stranded fish; in those days spermaceti, it would seem, was popularly supposed to be derived from a creature identical with the one then known in England as the Greenland or Right Whale. It was the idea also, that this same spermaceti was that quickening humor of the Greenland Whale which the first syllable of the word literally expresses. In those times, also, spermaceti was exceedingly scarce, not being used for light, but only as an ointment and medicament. It was only to be had from the druggists as you nowadays buy an ounce of rhubarb. When, as I opine, in the course of time, the true nature of spermaceti became known, its original name was still retained by the dealers; no doubt to enhance its value by a notion so strangely significant of its scarcity. And so the appellation must at last have come to be bestowed upon the whale from which this spermaceti was really derived.	”
	— Melville's Moby Dick, Chapter 32, named "Cetology"

Sperm whales are believed to have diverged from other toothed whales early in the evolution of the suborder—around twenty million years ago.^[17]

[edit] Conservation

[edit] Population and hunting

See also: Whaling

The number of sperm whales throughout the world is unknown. Crude estimates, obtained by surveying small areas and extrapolating the result to all the world's oceans, range from 200,000 to 2,000,000 individuals. Although the sperm whale was hunted for several centuries for its meat, oil and spermaceti, the conservational outlook for sperm whales is brighter than that for many other whales. Although a small-scale coastal fishery still occurs in Indonesia, they are protected practically worldwide. Fishermen do not catch the deep-sea creatures that sperm whales eat, and the deep sea is likely to be more resistant to pollution than surface layers.

However, the recovery from the whaling years is a slow process, particularly in the South Pacific, where the toll on males of a breeding age was severe.

[edit] Watching sperm whales

See also: Whale watching

Sperm whales are not the easiest of whales to watch, due to their long dive times and ability to travel long distances underwater. However, due to the distinctive look and large size of the whale, watching is increasingly popular. Sperm whale watchers often use hydrophones to listen to the clicks of the whales and locate them before they surface. Popular locations for sperm whale watching include the picturesque Kaikoura on New Zealand's South Island, where the continental shelf is so narrow that whales can be observed from the shore, Andenes and Tromsø in Arctic Norway and at the Azores where it can be seen throughout the year as opposed to other whales that are only seen during migration. Dominica is believed to be the only Caribbean island with a year-round residential pod of females and calves.

[edit] In the news

In July 2003 a huge blob of white flesh was found washed up on a beach on the coast of southern Chile. The 12-metre (40 ft) long mass of gelatinous tissue^[18] gave rise to speculation that a previously unknown giant octopus had been discovered. However, researchers at the Museum of Natural History, Santiago concluded that the mass was in fact the innards of a sperm whale, a conclusion drawn by looking at the dermal glands. When a sperm whale dies, its internal organs rot, until the animal becomes little more than a semi-liquid mass trapped inside the skin. Eventually, the skin will burst, causing the internal mass to float free and possibly wash up on the beach.^[19]

Dead sperm whales float towards shore quite often. Apart from the disposal issues identified above, beach managers fear that sharks, in particular the great white shark, will be attracted towards the beach by the rotting flesh, and potentially cause danger to beach users. For this reason, dead sperm whales are often towed out to sea before they become properly beached. This occurred twice in May 2004, once off Oahu in Hawaii where a dead whale was towed out 35 miles to sea but floated back to shore two days later.^[20]

[edit] Exploding whales

Main article: Exploding whales

Perhaps the most famous piece of sperm whale lore dates from 1970, when a long-dead, 8 short ton (7.25 tonne), 45 foot (13.7 m) long specimen came to a beach in Oregon. For a time, it was a curiosity to local residents. As the beach is public right-of-way, it was the duty of the Oregon Department of Transportation to dispose of it. They filled the animal with a half-ton of dynamite. On Thursday, November 12, the dynamite was set off, but the blast did not go toward the Pacific as planned. No one was hurt, but a car was crushed by falling blubber. Onlookers were covered with noxious-smelling bits of dead whale.^[21][22]

January 2004 saw a more dramatic entry of the sperm whale into the global media spotlight. A dead specimen of the whale, 17 metres long and weighing 50 tonnes, had washed up on a local beach in Tainan City, Taiwan. On being transported to a university in the city, gas pressure from decomposition built up inside the body, causing an explosion. Nobody was hurt, but blood and entrails were spread over several cars and surrounding pedestrians.^[23]

[edit] Accidents

In March 2007, a Japanese fisherman drowned after his boat was capsized by a panicked sperm whale he was trying to rescue. The whale had wandered into the relatively shallow waters in a bay in Shikoku.^[24]

[edit] See also

• Ambergris
• Moby-Dick
• Spermaceti

• High-finned sperm whale, a cryptid that may or may not exist.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS)
• 70South - information on the sperm whale
• MarineBio: sperm whale, Physeter catodon
• Dalhousie University Link to research laboratory of Hal Whitehead
• New Bedford whaling museum: Sperm whale bones exhibit
• Sperm whale Photograph, Jens Kuhfs Photography
• "Physty"-stranded sperm whale nursed back to health and released in 1981
• Sperm whale movies and sperm whale images, text in French
• The physiology of the deep diving adaptations of whales
• Online documentary film about sperm whales in the mediterranean sea (earthOCEAN)

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