Sperm Whale
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a species of marine mammal, a toothed whale with the largest brain of any animal. The whale was named after the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in its head and originally mistaken for sperm. The sperm whale is the only member of the genus Physeter, the synonym Physeter catodon refers to the same species. It is one of three living species in the sperm whale superfamily, the others being the Pygmy Sperm Whale and Dwarf Sperm Whale.
A bull sperm whale can grow up to Template:Convert long; it is the largest living toothed animal. A sperm whale has a large head that can be up to one-third of the animal's length. It has a cosmopolitan distribution across the world's oceans. The species feeds on squid and fish, diving as deep as Template:Convert in order to obtain its prey, making it the deepest diving mammal in the world. Its diet includes giant and colossal squid. It is considered the largest living predator and possibly the largest ever, not in terms of its taking animal matter (which is true of all cetaceans, including the larger baleen whales) but in that it actively preys on self-functioning animals. The sperm whale's clicking is the loudest sound produced by any animal, but there is still some uncertainty about its functions. These whales live in groups called pods. Pods of females and young live separately from older males. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young. Females give birth to calves every three to six years, and care for the calves for more than a decade.
