The sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ) or cachalot is the largest of the largest toothed and toothed whales. It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three species still present in the family of sperm whales, together with the dwarf sperm and the dwarf sperm of the genus Kogia .
Sperm whales are pelagic mammals with a worldwide range, and will migrate seasonally to feed and multiply. Young women and men live together in groups, while adult males (bulls) live alone outside the breeding season. Females work together to protect and care for their children. Females give birth every four to twenty years, and care for calves for more than a decade. Mature sperm whales have several natural predators, although calves and weak adults are sometimes killed by orcas pods (killer whales).
Adult males have an average length of 16 meters (52 feet) but some can reach 20.5 meters (67 feet), with heads representing up to one-third of the animal's length. Plunging to 2,250 meters (7,382 ft), it is the second deepest diving mammal, following the Cuvier beaked whale.
Sperm whales use oxygen and vocalizations as hard as 230 decibels (re 1 Ã,ÂμPa at 1 m) underwater. It has the largest brain on Earth, more than five times heavier than humans. Sperm whales can live for more than 60 years.
Spermaceti (spermatozoa oil), from which the whale gets its name, is the main target of the whaling industry, and is sought for use in oil lamps, lubricants, and candles. Ambergris, a solid wax waste product sometimes present in its digestive system, is still highly regarded as a fixative in perfume, among other uses. Beachcombers are looking for ambergris as flotsam. The whaling sperm was a major industry in the nineteenth century, immortalized in the Moby Dick novel. The species is protected by an International Whaling Commission moratorium, and is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Nature Conservation.
Video Sperm whale
Taxonomy and naming
Etymology
The name sperm whales is cutting spermaceti whales . Spermaceti, initially mistakenly identified as semen of semen, is a semi-liquid liquid found in the whale's head (see below). Sperm whales are also known as "cachalot", presumably derived from the ancient French for "teeth" or "big teeth", as preserved for example in cachau in Gascon dialect (word of origin Romance or Basque). The etymological dictionary of Corominas says its origin is uncertain, but it shows that it comes from the Latin vulgar cappulum , "sword handle". The word cachalot comes to English in French from Spanish or Portuguese cachalote , probably from Galician/Portuguese cachola , "big head". This term is preserved in the Russian word for animals, ??????? ( kashalot ), as it does in many other languages.
The name of the scientific genus Physeter comes from the Greek phys? T? R ( ??????? ), meaning "blowpipe, blowhole (from whale)", or - as pars pro toto - "whales". The specific name macrocephalus is Latin from the Greek makrokephalos ( ????????? ??? , meaning "big-headed"), from makros ( ?????? , "large") kefalos ( ??????? , "head").
The specific name of the synonym catodon means "bottom teeth", from the Greek cat (a) - ("under") and od? N ("tooth"); so named because it has teeth that are visible only in the lower jaw. (See: Teeth) Another synonym australasianus ("Australasian") is applied to sperm whales in the southern hemisphere.
Taxonomy
The sperm whale belongs to the order Cetartiodactyla, an order containing all cetaceans and ending ungulates. It is a member of the undamaged Clade Cetacea, with all whales, dolphins, and dolphins, and is further classified into Odontoceti, which contains all toothed whales and dolphins. This is the only remaining species of the genus, Physeter , in the Physeteridae family. Two species of the extant genus Kogia, dwarf sperm Kogia breviceps and dwarf sperm K. simus , are placed in this family or in the family Kogiidae. In some family taxonomic schemes Kogiidae and Physeteridae are combined as Physeteroidea superfamily (see separate entries in the sperm whale family).
Sperm whale is one of the species originally described by Linnaeus in 1758 in 18th-century work, Systema Naturae . He recognized four species in the Physeter genus. Experts soon realize that only one such species exists, although there is a debate about whether this should be named P. catodon or P. macrocephalus, two names used by Linnaeus. Both names are still used, although most authors now accept macrocephalus as valid names, restricting catodon ' status to a lower synonym. Until 1974, the species was commonly known as P. catodon . However, that year, Husson & amp; Holthuis proposed that the correct name should be P. macrocephalus , the second name in the genus Physeter published by Linnaeus together with P. catodon . This proposition is based on the reason that the names are synonyms issued simultaneously, and, therefore, the ICZN Principles of the First Reviser must be applied. In this case, it leads to a choice of P. macrocephalus above P. catodon , a view reiterated in Holthuis, 1987. This has been adopted by most of the later writers, although Schevill (1986 and 1987) argue that macrocephalus is published with inaccurate descriptions and that therefore only valid catodon species, which gives the principle of "First Reviser" can not be applied. The latest version of ITIS has changed its use from P. catodon to P. macrocephalus , following discussions L. B. Holthuis and later (2008) with relevant experts. Furthermore, the Community Taxonomy Committee for Marine Mammals, the largest international association of marine mammal scientists in the world, formally uses Physeter macrocephalus when publishing their definitive list of marine mammal species.
Maps Sperm whale
Biology
External view
Sperm whale is the largest toothed whale, with an adult male measuring up to 20.5 meters (67Ã, ft) long and weighing up to 57,000 kilograms (56 tons long; 63 tons short). In contrast, the second largest toothed whale (Baird's Beaked Whale) measures 12.8 meters (42Ã, ft) and weighs up to 15 short tons (14,000 kg). The Nantucket Whaling Museum has a 5.5 meter (18 feet) long jawbone. The museum claims that this man has a length of 24 meters (80 feet); whales drowning Essex (one of the incidents behind Moby-Dick ) claimed to be 26 meters (85Ã, ft). Similar size was reported from the jawbone of the British Natural History Museum. A 20m specimen was reported from a Soviet whaling fleet near the Kuril Islands in 1950. There is disagreement over the claims of adult men approaching or exceeding 24 meters (80 feet) in length.
Extensive whaling may have reduced their size, as men were highly sought after, especially after World War II. Currently, men typically do not exceed 18.3 meters (60 o, ft) long or 51,000 kilograms (50 ton long, 56 tons short) weight. Another view suggests that overwhaling exploitation does not significantly affect the size of spider whales, and its size may actually increase in the present time based on the effect of density dependent. The old men taken on the Solander Islands are very large and extraordinarily rich in blubbers.
This is one of the most sexual dimorphisms of all cetaceans. At birth both sexes have the same size, but adult men are usually 30% to 50% longer and three times larger than females.
The unique body of a sperm whale is unlikely to be equated with another species. The typical form of sperm whale comes from its very large, block-shaped head, which can be one-quarter to one-third of the animal's length. The S-shaped blowhole lies very close to the front of the head and shifts to the left of the whale. This gives rise to a prominent spray that protrudes forward.
The sperm whale worm (lobe tail) is triangular and very thick. Proportionally, they are larger than other cetaceans, and are very flexible. Whales lifted the worm out of the water as it began to dive. It has a series of backs on the back of the three caudals instead of dorsal fins. The largest ridge is called a 'hump' by whalers, and can be misinterpreted as the dorsal fin because of its shape and size.
In contrast to the delicate skin of most large whales, the back skin is usually wrinkled and has been likened to crops by whale enthusiasts. Albinos have been reported.
Skeleton
The ribs are attached to the spine by a flexible cartilage, which allows the ribs to collapse rather than break under high pressure. Although sperm whales adapt well to diving, recurring dives to deep depths have long-term effects. Bones show the same pitting that denotes decompression in humans. Older skeletons show the most widespread pitting, whereas calves do not show any damage. This damage can indicate that sperm whales are susceptible to decompression sickness, and a sudden surface can be deadly for them.
As with all cetaceans, the spine of the sperm whale has reduced the zygapophysial joint, which remains unmodified and is positioned higher in the vertebral dorsal spine process, embracing it laterally, to prevent extensive lateral flexure and facilitate dorso-ventral bending. This evolutionary modification makes the spine more flexible but weaker than the vertebrates of the land vertebrates.
Like other toothed whales, sperm whale skeletons are not symmetrical, so they can help ecolocation. Sound waves that attack the whales from different directions will not be channeled in the same way. In the hollow of the cranium, the opening of reinforced nanostal tubes (from which the nasal passages erupt) is impaled towards the left side of the skull.
Jaws and teeth
The lower sperm whale is very narrow and underslung. Sperm whales have 18 to 26 teeth on each side of the mandible that goes into the socket in the upper jaw. Teeth are conical and weigh up to 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) each. The tooth works, but it does not seem necessary to catch or eat the squid, because well-fed animals have been found without teeth or even with deformed jaws. One hypothesis is that teeth are used in aggression between men. Adult males often show scars that appear to be caused by teeth. Rudimentary teeth are also present in the upper jaw, but these rarely appear in the mouth. Analyzing teeth is the preferred method for determining whale life. Like an age ring in a tree, the tooth builds a different layer of centum and dentine as it grows.
Brain
The brain is the largest known from modern or extinct animals, weighing an average of about 7.8 kilograms (17 pounds), more than five times heavier than humans, and has a volume of about 8,000 cm 3 . Although the larger brain is generally correlated with higher intelligence, it is not the only factor. Elephants and dolphins also have bigger brains than humans. Sperm whales have lower intelligence encephalization than many other species of whales and dolphins, lower than non-human anthropoid apes, and much lower than humans.
Cerebrum sperm whales are the largest in all mammals, either in absolute or relative terms. The olfactory system is reduced, indicating that sperm whales have poor sense of smell and smell. Instead, the hearing system is enlarged. Pyramidal channels develop poorly, reflecting the reduction of limbs.
Biological system
The sperm whale breathing system has adapted to cope with drastic pressure changes while diving. Flexible ribcage allows lung collapse, decreases nitrogen intake, and decreases metabolism to save oxygen. Between diving, the surface of the sperm whales breathe for about eight minutes before diving again. Odontoceti (toothed whale) breathes air on the surface through a single blowhole shaped S, which is very tilted to the left. Sperm whales breathe (breathe) 3-5 times per minute at rest, increasing to 6-7 times per minute after diving. The blow is a noisy single stream rising up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) or more above the surface and pointing forward and to the left at an angle of 45 °. On average, females and teens explode every 12.5 seconds before diving, while big men blow every 17.5 seconds before diving. A sperm whale killed 160 km (100 mi) south of Durban, South Africa after diving for 1 hour 50 minutes found with two dogfish (Scymnodon sp.), Usually found on the seafloor, in the stomach.
Sperm whale has the longest intestinal system in the world, exceeding 300 m in larger specimens. Similar to the ruminants of sperm whales have four stomach abdomen. The first does not remove the stomach fluid and has a very thick muscle wall to destroy food (because the whales can not chew) and resist the attacks of claws and worms that are ingested. The second room is larger and the digestive site occurs. The digested squid's beak accumulates in the second chamber - as many as 18,000 have been found in several dissected specimens. Most of the squid's beak is spewed by whales, but some sometimes make it to hindgut. The beak is like sniffing the formation of ambergris.
In 1959, the heart of 22 metric tons (24 short tons) of men taken by fish catchers was measured to 116 kilograms (256 lb), about 0.5% of the total mass. The circulatory system has a number of specific adaptations for the aquatic environment. The diameter of the aortic arch increases as it leaves the heart. This bulbous expansion acts as a windkessel, ensuring a steady flow of blood as the heart rate slows down during the dive. The artery that leaves the aortic arch is positioned symmetrically. There is no costocervical artery. There is no direct relationship between the internal carotid artery and the brain vessels. Their circulatory system has adapted to dive at a very deep depth, up to 2,250 meters (7,382 ft). Myoglobin, which stores oxygen in muscle tissue, is much more than land animals. Blood has a high red blood cell density, which contains oxygen carrying hemoglobin. Oxygenated blood can be directed only to the brain and other important organs when oxygen levels are reduced. The spermaceti organ can also play a role by adjusting the buoyancy (see below). Retia mirabilia extraordinary arteries develop well. The complex arteriial retia mirabilia of sperm whales is larger and larger than other cetaceans.
Sense
Organ and Spermaceti melons
Above the whale's skull is positioned a large complex organ filled with a mixture of fatty fluids and wax called spermaceti. The purpose of this complex is to produce a strong and focused click sound, used by sperm sperm for ecolocation and communication.
The spermaceti organ is like a large spermaceti. The surrounding walls, known as letters , are very hard and fibrous. This case can survive in it up to 1,900 liters of spermaceti. This is proportionally greater in males. This oil is a mixture of triglycerides and wax esters. The proportion of wax esters in spermacetal organs increases with whale age: 38-51% in calves, 58-87% in adult females, and 71-94% in adult males. Spermaceti on the organ nucleus has a higher wax content than the outside. The speed of sound in spermaceti is 2,684 m/s (at 40 kHz, 36 Â ° C), making it almost twice as fast as in oil in dolphin melons.
Under the spermaceti organ lies "junk" composed of spermaceti compartments separated by cartilage. This is in line with the melons found in other toothed whales. The garbage structure redistributes physical stress on the skull and may have evolved to protect the head during ramming.
Run through the head are two air ducts. The left side runs along the spermaceti organ and goes straight to the pit, while the right runs under the sperm organ and passes through the air through a pair of fictitious lips and into the distal pouch at the front of the nose. The distal pouch is connected to the pop hole and the tip of the left side. When the whale is submerged, it can close the blowhole, and air passing through the phonic lips can circulate back into the lungs. Sperm whales, unlike other odontocetes, have only a pair of phonic lips, while all other toothed whales have two, and are located in front of the nose instead of behind a melon.
At the posterior end of this spermaceti complex is the frontal sac, which covers the concave surface of the skull. The posterior wall of the front sac is covered with fluid-filled knobs, which are about 4-13 mm in diameter and separated by narrow grooves. The anterior wall is smooth. The knobbly surface reflects the sound waves that come through the spermaceti organ from the phonic lips. The groove between the buttons traps a consistent aerial film regardless of the orientation or depth of the whale, making it an excellent sound mirror.
The spermaceti organ can also help to adjust the buoyancy of the whales. It is hypothesized that before whale dives, cold water enters the organs, and possibly blood vessels narrow, reducing blood flow, and, therefore, temperature. Therefore the wax solidifies and reduces the volume. The increase in specific density produces a down force of about 392 newtons (88Ã, lb f ) and allows whales to dive with little effort. During hunting, oxygen consumption, along with dilation of blood vessels, produces heat and melts spermaceti, increasing its buoyancy and allowing easy surfaces. However, recent work has found many problems with this theory including the lack of anatomical structures for actual heat exchange.
The fictional Herman Melville Moby Dick story shows that the "case" that contains spermaceti serves as a breaker for use in fights between men. Some notable examples include the drowning of the fine vessel Essex and Ann Alexander by the attacker estimated to weigh only one fifth of the ship.
Eyes and visions
The eyes of sperm whales do not vary much with other toothed whales except in size. It is the largest among toothed whales, weighing around 170 g. Overall the ellipsoid is in shape, compressed along the visual axis, measuring approximately 7ÃÆ' â € "7ÃÆ' â €" 3Ã, cm. The cornea is elliptical and the lens is round. Sclera is very hard and thick, approximately 1 cm in the anterior and 3 cm in the posterior. There is no ciliary muscle. Choroid is very thick and contains fibrous tapetum lucidum . Like other toothed whales, sperm whales can pull back and stretch their eyes thanks to a 2cm thick muscular retractor attached around the eyes at the equator.
According to Fristrup and Harbison (2002), the eyes of a sperm whale provide good vision and sensitivity to light. They suspect that sperm whales use vision to hunt squid, either by detecting silhouettes from below or by detecting bioluminescence. If the sperm whale detects the silhouette, Fristrup and Harbison suggest that they hunt upside down, allowing them to use the front of the visual ventral field for binocular vision.
Sleep
For some time researchers have realized that sperm whales can sleep for a short time, assuming a vertical position with their heads just below or on the surface. A 2008 study published in Current Biology recorded evidence that whales can sleep with both sides of the brain. It seems that some whales can fall into deep sleep for about 7 percent of the time, most often between 6 pm. and midnight.
Genetics
Sperm whale has 21 pairs of chromosomes (2n = 42). The living whale genome can be examined by restoring the sheded skin.
Vocalization complex
Mechanism
When echolocating, sperm whales emit the focus highlight of broadband clicks. Clicks are generated by forcing air through a pair of phonic lips (also known as "monkey lips" or "museau de singe") at the front end of the nose, just below the blowhole. The sound then moves backward along the nose through the spermaceti organ. Much of the sound energy is then reflected from the frontal sac on the skull and into the melon, whose lens-like structure focuses. Some sounds will reflect back to the spermaceti organ and back to the front of the whale's nose, where it will be reflected through the spermaceti organ for the third time. This alternating reflection that occurs on a scale of several milliseconds creates a multi-pulse click structure. This multi-pulse click structure allows researchers to measure the whale spermaceti's organ simply by using the clicks. Because the interval between the pulses of the sperm whale clicks is related to the length of the organ that produces sound, the individual whale clicks are unique to that individual. However, if the whale matures and the size of the spermaceti organ increases, the tone of the whale's click will also change. The lower jaw is the main receiving route for echoes. A fully charged channel that continuously transmits the received sound to the inner ear.
The air source that is forced through the phonic lips is the right nose section. While the left nose section opens into the blow hole, the right nose section has evolved to supply air to the phonic lips. It is thought that the ancestral nostrils of the sperm whales migrate through evolution to their current function, the left nostril into a blowhole and the right nostril into a phonic lips.
The air passing through the phonic lips goes into the distal pouch, then back down through the left nasal passage. This air recycling allows the whale to continue generating clicks during submergence.
Type of vocalization
The crane is a fast-paced high-frequency click that sounds somewhat like a creaking door hinge. This is usually used when homing on the prey.
Coda is a short pattern of 3 to 20 clicks used in social situations. They were once thought of as the way in which individuals identify themselves, but individuals have been observed producing multiple codas, and the same codas are used by some individuals. However, each click contains a physical signature indicating that a click can be used to identify an individual. Pods that are geographically separated show different dialects. Large males are generally solitary and rarely produce codas. In the breeding grounds, the codas are almost entirely produced by adult females. Although there is evidence that sperm whales share the same codas, it remains unknown whether sperm whales have individual specific coda repertoires or whether individuals make codas at different levels.
Slow clicks are only heard in the presence of men (not sure if women occasionally make them). Males make many slow clicks at the breed (74% of the time), both near the surface and at depth, indicating they are primarily mating signals. Outside the breeding ground, slow clicks are seldom heard, and are usually near the surface.
Ecology
Distribution
Sperm whales are among the most cosmopolitan species. They prefer ice-free waters with depths of more than 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). Although both sexes range from tropical oceans and seas, only adult men occupy higher latitudes. Among some areas such as along the coastal waters of southern Australia, sperm whales have been considered extinct locally.
They are relatively abundant from the poles to the equator and are found in all oceans. They inhabit the Mediterranean Sea, but not the Black Sea, while their presence in the Red Sea is uncertain. The shallow entrance to the Black Sea and the Red Sea might explain their absence. The underwater layer of the Black Sea is also anoxic and contains high concentrations of sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulphide. The first sighting in Pakistan was done in 2017. The first record on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula (Yellow Sea) was made in 2005. followed by one on Ganghwa Island in 2009.
The population is denser close to the continental shelf and canyon. Sperm whales are commonly found in offshore waters, but may be seen closer to shore, in areas where the continental shelf is small and drops rapidly to depths of 310 to 920 meters (1,020 to 3,020 feet). Coastal areas with significant sperm populations including the Azores and Dominica. In Asian waters, whales are also observed regularly in coastal waters in places such as the Command and Kuril Islands, Shiretoko Peninsula where is one of the few whale locations to be observed from the coast, off Kinkasan, around Tokyo Bay and Boso Peninsula to Izu and Izu Islands, Volcano Islands, Yakushima and Tokara to the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Northern Mariana Islands, and so on. Records of historical arrest indicate that there may be a smaller reason for aggression in the Sea of ​​Japan as well. Throughout the Korean Peninsula, the first confirmed observation in the Sea of ​​Japan, 8 animals from Guryongpo, was made in 2004 since after the last catch of 5 whales from Ulsan in 1911. while 9 whales were observed on the East China Sea side of the peninsula in 1999.
Male males are known to enter a shallow superficial bay for rest (whales will be in a state of rest during this occasion). There are unique, coastal groups reported from different regions of the world such as Scotland, Shiretoko Peninsula, off Kaikoura, in the Bay of Davao. Such coastal groups are more abundant in the days of pre-whaling.
Genetic analysis shows that the world's population of sperm whales originated in the Pacific Ocean from a population of about 10,000 animals some 100,000 years ago when expanding ice caps hindered their access to other seas. In particular, Atlantic colonization was revealed to have occurred several times during their extended reach.
Diet
Sperm whales usually dive between 300 to 800 meters (980 to 2,620 feet), and sometimes 1 to 2 kilometers (3,300 to 6,600 feet), to search for food. Such diversion may take more than an hour. They eat several species, especially giant squid, but also colossal squid, octopus, and fish like demersal rays, but their food is mainly medium sized squid. Some prey can be taken by accident while eating other items. Much of what is known about deep-sea squid has been studied from specimens in sperm whales that have been captured, although more recent studies have analyzed feces. One study, conducted around Galá¡pagos, found that squid of the genera Histioteuthis (62%), Ancoldcheirus (16%), and Octopoteuthis (7%) weighing between 12 and 650 grams (0.026 and 1,433Ã, lb) are the most commonly taken. Battles between sperm whales and giant squid or colossal squid are never observed by humans; However, the white scar is believed to be caused by large squid. One study published in 2010 collected evidence showing that female sperm whales can collaborate while hunting the Humboldt squid. Research marking shows that hunting sperm whales are reversed at the base of their deep dives. It is suggested that the whales can see the silhouetted squid above them against the dim view of the light.
An older study, examining whales captured by New Zealand's whaling fleet in the Cook Strait region, found a 1.69: 1 ratio of squid to heavy fish. Sperm whales sometimes take sable fish and toothfish from long lines. Long-term fishing operations in the Gulf of Alaska complain that sperm whales use their fishing operations to feed on the species they want directly, saving whales that need to be hunted. However, the number of fish taken is very little compared to sperm needs per day. Video footage has been taken from large male sperm whales that "bounce" long lines, to get fish. Sperm whales are believed to prey on megamouth sharks, a rare and massive deepwater species found in the 1970s. In one case, three sperm whales were observed to attack or play with megamouth.
The sharp beak of squid consumed that nest in the whale's intestines can lead to ambergris production, analogous to the production of pearls. Irritation of the intestine caused by half-squid stimulates the secretion of a substance such as this lubricant. Sperm whales are excellent feeders and eat about 3% of their body weight per day. Total annual consumption of prey by worldwide sperm whales is estimated at 91 million tons (100 million short tons). By comparison, the consumption of human seafood is estimated at 115 million tons (127 million short tons).
Sperm whales hunt through echolocation. Their click is one of the most powerful voices in the animal kingdom (see above). It has been hypothesized that it can ignite prey by its click. Experimental studies attempting to duplicate this effect can not replicate suspected injuries, raising doubts on this idea.
It has been stated that sperm whales, as well as other large cetaceans, help to nourish the surface of the ocean by consuming nutrients in the depth and transporting the nutrients to the surface of the ocean when they defecate, an effect known as the whale pump. It fuels phytoplankton and other plants on the ocean surface and contributes to the productivity of the oceans and atmospheric carbon withdrawals.
Life cycle
Sperm whales can live 70 years or more. They are prime examples of species selected by K, which means that their reproductive strategies are related to stable environmental conditions and consist of low birth rates, significant parental assistance to offspring, slow maturity, and high longevity.
How they choose the couple has not been determined for sure. Men will fight each other over the females, and the males will marry many females, making them polygamy, but they do not dominate the group as in the harem. Men do not care for their children.
Women become fertile at the age of about 9 years. The oldest pregnant woman ever recorded was 41 years old. Gestation takes 14 to 16 months, yielding one calf. Adult women sexually give birth every 4 to 20 years (higher pregnancy rates during the whaling era). Birth is a social event, because mothers and calves need others to protect them from predators. Other adults may jostle and bite newborns in the first hours.
Lactation lasts 19 to 42 months, but calves, rarely, can suckle for up to 13 years. Like other whales, sperm whale milk has a higher fat content than terrestrial mammals: about 36%, compared with 4% in cow's milk. This provides the same consistency with cottage cheese, which prevents it from dissolving in water before calves can eat it. It has an energy content of about 3,840 kcal/kg, compared to only 640 kcal/kg in cow's milk. Calves may be allowed to suckle from females other than their mothers.
Men become sexually mature at 18 years old. After reaching sexual maturity, men move to higher latitudes, where water is cooler and eat more productive. Women remain in the lower latitudes. Men reach their full size at around age 50.
Social behavior
Relationships within species
Adult males who do not breed live solitary, while adolescent women and men live together in groups. The main driving force for sexual segregation of adult sperm whales is competition that is scrambling for mesopelagic squid. Women and children remain in groups, while adult men leave their "Christmas units" somewhere between 4 and 21 years old. Mature males sometimes form loose bachelor groups with other men of the same age and size. When men get older, they usually live alone. Adult males have spelled themselves out, indicating a level of cooperation that has not been fully understood. Whales rarely, if ever, leave their group.
A social unit is a group of sperm whales that live and travel together for several years. Individuals rarely, if ever, join or leave social units. There is a big difference in the size of social units. They are most often between six and nine people in size but can have more than twenty. Unlike orcas, sperm whales in social units show no significant inclination to connect with their genetic relatives. Females and calves spend about three quarters of their time looking for food and a quarter of their time socializing. Socialization is usually done in the afternoon.
When social sperm whales, they emit a complex click pattern called a codas. They will spend a lot of time rubbing each other. Diving of the whales shows that the group is involved in herding prey, similar to a ball feed made by another species, although research needs to be confirmed by tracking prey.
Relationship with other species
The most common natural predator of sperm whales is the orca, but pilot whales and fake killer whales sometimes disturb them. Orcas preys on a female target group with young, usually trying to extract and kill calves. Adults will protect their children or injured adults by laid siege to them. They may face inward with their tail out ('marguerite formation', named after the flower). A thick and strong tail from an adult whale can give a deadly blow. Or, they may be facing out ('head-out formation'). In addition to sperm whales, southern right whales have been observed to perform similar formations. However, formation in a harmless situation has been recorded as well. Early whale hunters exploit this behavior, withdrawing the entire unit by injuring one of its members. Such tactics are described in Moby Dick:
"Say you attacked an ox-poor devils! All of his companions abandoned him, but attacked a member of the harem school, and his friends swam around him with every sign of concern, sometimes lingering around him for so long, as themselves to fall prey. "
If the orca pod is very large, its members can sometimes kill adult sperm whales. The solitary adult males are known to be intrusive and come to help vulnerable groups nearby. Individuals of large adult male sperm whales have no non-human predators, and are believed to be too large, strong and aggressive to be threatened by orcas. In addition, male sperm whales have been observed to attack and intimidate orca pods. The incident was filmed from a long-line trawl: an orca pod systematically picked up a fish caught in a long line of trawlers (when lines were pulled into a ship) when a male sperm whale appeared to repeatedly fill an orca shell in an attempt to dislodge them; it is speculated by the film crew that sperm whales try to access the same fish. The orcas use tail-and-tails defense positions that slap against sperm whales similar to those used by female sperm whales against orcas.
Sperm whales are not known for attaching bonds to other species, but it is observed that bottle nose dolphins with spinal deformities have been accepted into a collection of sperm whales. They are known to swim with other cetaceans such as humpback whales, fins, minke, pilots, and orca on certain occasions.
History of evolution
Fossil record
Although the fossil record is bad, some extinct genera have been assigned to the Physeteroidea clade, which includes the last ancestors of modern sperm whales, stunted sperm whales, stunted sperm whales, and extinct physeteroids. These fossils include Ferretetium, Idiorophus, Diaphorocetus, Aulophyseter, Orycterocetus, Scaldicetus , Placoziphius , Zygophyseter and Acrophyseter . Ferecetotherium , found in Azerbaijan and the date for the final Oligocene (about 28 to 23 million years ago ), is the most primitive fossil that has been found that has specific feature whale sperm such as asymmetric rostrum ("beak" or "muzzle"). Most fossilized sperm whales originate from the Miocene period, 23 to 5 million years ago . Diaphorocetus , from Argentina, has been dated to the early Miocene. Middle Miocene sperm fossils including Aulophyseter , Idiorophus and Orycterocetus , all found on the west coast of the United States, and Scaldicetus >, found in Europe and Japan. Orycterocetus fossils have also been found in the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, alongside the west coast of the United States. Placoziphius , found in Europe, and Acrophyseter , from Peru, is dated to the final Miocene.
The remains of a spatial whale differ from modern sperm whales in teeth and face and jaw shape. For example, Scaldicetus has a tapered rostrum. Genera of the early and middle Oligocene and Miocene, with the possible exception of Aulophyseter , have teeth in their upper jaws. Acrophyseter , from the late Miocene, also has teeth in both upper and lower jaws as well as short pulp and lower maxillary jaw (mandible below). This anatomical difference suggests that fossil species may not necessarily eat deep sea squid like modern sperm whales, but some genera primarily eat fish. Zygophyseter , derived from the middle Miocene to the end and found in southern Italy, has teeth in both jaws and appears to have adapted to eat large prey, such as the modern Orca (Killer Whale). Other fossilized sperm whales with similar adaptations are collectively known as killer sperm whales.
Phylogeny
The traditional view is that Mysticeti (baleen whales) and Odontoceti (toothed whales) emerged from more primitive whales at the beginning of the Oligocene period, and that the Physeteroidea superfamily, containing sperm whales, stunted sperm whales, and dwarf sperm whales. , deviate from other toothed whales soon after, more than 23 million years ago . From 1993 to 1996, molecular phylogenetic analysis by Milinkovitch and colleagues, based on the gene comparison of modern whales, suggests that sperm whales are more closely related to baleen whales than other toothed whales, which means Odontoceti is not monophyletic; in other words, it does not consist of a single whale species of a single ancestor and all its descendants. However, more recent research, based on various combinations of comparative anatomy and molecular phylogenetics, criticized Milinkovitch's analysis on a technical basis and reiterated that Odontoceti is monophyletic.
This analysis also confirmed that there is a rapid evolutionary radiation (diversification) from Physeteroidea in the Miocene period. Kogiidae (dwarf whales and sperm dwarfs) deviate from Physeteridae (true sperm whales) at least 8 million years ago .
Relationships with humans
Whaling sperm
Spermaceti, obtained mainly from sperm organ, and sperm oil, obtained primarily from body fat, are sought after by eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth-century whales. This substance finds a variety of commercial applications, such as wax, soap, cosmetics, engine oil, other specialty lubricants, oil lamps, pencils, crayons, waterproofing leather, stainless materials and many pharmaceutical compounds. Ambergris, a solid, waxy, flammable substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales, is also sought as a fixative in fragrances.
Before the beginning of the 18th century, hunting was mostly done by indigenous Indonesians. The legend says that sometime in the early 18th century, around 1712, Captain Christopher Hussey, while sailing for whales near the coast, was blown offshore by the north wind, where he met a sperm whale pod and killed one. Although the story may not be true, sperm whales are immediately exploited by American whalers. Judge Paul Dudley, in his Essay on Natural History of the Pope (1725), states that one Atkins, ten or twelve years in trade, was one of the first to capture a sperm whale sometime around 1720 from New England Beach.
There are only a few catches recorded during the first few decades (1709-1730s) of offshore whaling. Instead, the hunters are concentrated in Nantucket Beting, where they will pick up the right whale or go to the Davis Strait region to capture the bowhead whale. In the early 1740s, with the emergence of spermaceti wax (before 1743), American ships began to focus on sperm whales. The diary of Benjamin Bangs (1721-1769) shows that, along with the jumper he rode, he found three other hordes that flew sperm whales off the coast of North Carolina at the end of May 1743. When he returned to Nantucket in the summer of 1744 on the next voyage, he notes that "45 spermacetes were brought here today," another indication that American sperm whaling is going well.
American sperm whale hunts soon spread from the east coast of the American colonies to the Gulf Stream, Grand Banks, West Africa (1763), Azores (1765), and the South Atlantic (1770s). From 1770 to 1775 Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island harbors produce 45,000 barrels of sperm oil annually, compared to 8,500 whale oils. In the same decade, Britain began the hunt for sperm whales, using American ships and personnel. In the next decade, France has entered the trade, also using American expertise. The whaling sperm increased until the mid-nineteenth century. Spermaceti oil is important in public lighting (for example, in lighthouses, where it was used in the United States until 1862, when it was replaced by pork fat oil, in turn replaced by petroleum) and to lubricate machines (as used in cotton factories) of the Industrial Revolution. Sperm whaling declined in the second half of the nineteenth century, when petroleum began to be used more widely. In this case, the use of oil can be said to have protected the whale population from greater exploitation. The sperm of whaling in the eighteenth century began with a small boat carrying only one or two whales. The scope and size of the fleet increased over time, and larger vessels entered the fisheries. At the end of the 18th century and sperm whaling vessels of the 19th century sailed to the equatorial Pacific, Indian Ocean, Japan, coastal Arabia, Australia and New Zealand. Hunting can be dangerous for the crew, as sperm whales (especially oxen) are ready to fight to defend themselves from attacks, unlike most baleen whales. When confronted with threats, sperm whales will use their big heads effectively as breakers. The most famous sperm whale backlash occurred on November 20, 1820, when a pope claimed about 25.9 meters (85 feet) had crashed and drowned the subway Nantucket Essex . Only 8 out of 21 sailors survived to be rescued by other ships. This instance is believed to have inspired the famous book Herman Melville Moby-Dick .
Teeth like germinal sperm sperm are often sought after by the 18th and 19th-century whales, who use them to produce inked carvings known as scrimshaws. Thirty teeth of sperm whales can be used for ivory. Each of these teeth, up to 20 cm (8 inches) and 8 cm (3 inches), is hollow for the first half of its length. Like walrus ivory, whale tusks have two different layers. However, whale tusks contain deeper layers much thicker. Despite the widely practiced art of the nineteenth century, scrimshaw using native sperm whales dropped substantially after retirement from the whaling fleet in the 1880s. Currently, the Endangered Species Species and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), prevent the sale or trade of ivory sperm whales harvested after 1973 or scrimshaw made from them.
Modern whaling is more efficient than open whale hunting, using steam-powered boats and bursting spears. Initially, modern whaling activities focus on large baleen whales, but when this population is taken, sperm hunting increases. Spermaceti, a fine wax oil produced by sperm whales, is in great demand. In the 1941 to 1942 and 1942 to 1943 seasons, the Norwegian expedition took over 3,000 sperm whales off the coast of Peru alone. After World War II, whaling continues to get oil for cosmetics and high-performance machines, such as car transmissions.
The hunt caused the disappearance of large whales, including sperm whales, until a ban on whale-oil usage was introduced in 1972. The International Whale Rescue Commission gave full protection to the species in 1985 but hunting by Japan in the northern Pacific Ocean continued until 1988.
It is estimated that the world's historic population numbered 1,100,000 before commercial commercial sperm whaling began in the early eighteenth century. In 1880, the number decreased by about 29 percent. From that date to 1946, the population appeared to be partially recovering as whaling activities declined, and after World War II, whale populations increased to 33 percent of the pre-whaling population. Between 184,000 and 236,000 sperm whales were killed by various whaling nations in the nineteenth century, while in the twentieth century, at least 770,000 were taken, the majority between 1946 and 1980.
Sperm whales increase primary production rates and carbon exports by storing iron-rich faeces to the surface of waters in the Southern Ocean. Iron-rich faeces cause the phytoplankton to grow and take up more carbon from the atmosphere. When phytoplankton dies, it sinks into the deep ocean and takes atmospheric carbon with it. By reducing the abundance of sperm whales in the Southern Ocean, whaling has resulted in an additional 2 million tons of carbon remaining in the atmosphere each year.
The remaining sperm whales population is large enough so that species conservation status is considered more vulnerable than endangered. However, the recovery of centuries-old commercial whaling is a slow process, especially in the South Pacific, where casualties in male-age cultivation are severe.
Current conservation status
The total number of sperm whales in the world is unknown, but it is estimated to reach hundreds of thousands. The conservation view is brighter than many other whales. Commercial fishing has stopped, and the species is protected almost worldwide, although records show that in the eleven-year period starting from 2000, Japan has captured 51 sperm whales. Fishermen do not target sperm whales, but fishing operations in the Gulf of Alaska have complained about sperm whales that steal fish from their line.
Currently, turns in fishing nets and ship crashes are the biggest threat to sperm pop populations. Other threats include swallowing sea trash, sea sounds, and chemical pollution. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers sperm whales as "vulnerable". This species is listed as endangered in the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Sperm whales are listed in Appendix I and Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Wild Animals Species (CMS). It is listed in Appendix I because this species has been categorized as in danger of extinction throughout or most of their reach and CMS Parties strive to strictly protect these animals, preserve or restore the places in which they live, reducing barriers to migration and control other factors that might harm them. It is listed in Appendix II because it has unfavorable conservation status or will benefit significantly from international cooperation regulated by a customized agreement. It is also covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetacea in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and adjacent Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS) and Memorandum of Understanding for the Preservation of Cetaceans and Habitats in the Pacific Cetaceans MOU.
Cultural interests
Rope-mounted teeth are an important cultural object throughout the Pacific. In New Zealand, M? Ori knows them as "rei puta"; Such whale tooth pendants are a rarity because sperm whales are not actively hunted in traditional M societies? ori. Ivory and whale are taken from whales stranded on the beach. In Fiji the tooth is known as tabua , traditionally given as a reward for redemption or self-esteem (called sevusevu ), and is important in negotiations between rival chiefs. Friedrich Ratzel in The History of Mankind reported in 1896 that, in Fiji, whale teeth or cachalots are the most needed ornament or value item. They often occur in necklaces. Today Tabua remains an important item in the life of Fiji. Teeth were initially rare in Fiji and Tonga, which were exporting teeth, but with the arrival of Europe, teeth flooded the market and the "currency" collapsed. The oversupply in turn leads to the development of European scrimshaw art.
The Herman Melville novel Moby-Dick is based on a true story about a sperm whale attacking and drowning the Whaleship Essex . Melville links the sperm to the Leviathan Bible. The frightening reputation perpetuated by Melville is based on the ability of the bull whale to defend itself against whaling attackers, destroying whaling vessels and, occasionally, attacking and destroying whaling vessels.
This sperm whale was designated a Connecticut state animal by the CT General Assembly in 1975. It was chosen for its specific contribution to the country's history and because of its current state of endangered species.
Watching sperm whales
Sperm whales are not the easiest to watch, because of their long dive time and the ability to travel deep under water. However, due to the typical look and size of whales, the watch is getting popular. Sperm whale observers often use hydrophones to listen to whale clicks and find them before they appear. Popular locations for sperm whale watching include the town of Kaikoura on New Zealand's South Island, Andenes and TromsÃÆ'¸ in Arctic Norway; and the Azores, where the continental shelf is so narrow that whales can be observed from the shore, and Dominica where a long-term scientific research program, the Dominican Sperm Whale Project, has been in operation since 2005.
Plastic waste
The introduction of plastic waste into the marine environment by humans is nothing new. Sperm whales are sometimes found with plastic pieces on their stomachs.
See also
- List of pale sperm whales
- List of species of whales and dolphins cetaceans
- Marine biology
Note
References
Further reading
Whitehead, H. (2003).- Whitehead, H. (2003). Sperm Whale: Social Evolution in the Ocean . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p.Ã, 4. ISBNÃ, 0-226-89518-1.
- Perrin, William F.; WÃÆ'¼rsig, Bernd; Thewissen, J.G.M., eds. (2002). The Sea Mammal Encyclopedia . San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press. ISBN: 0-12-551340-2.
- Carwardine, Hoyt; Fordyce & amp; Gill (1998). Whale & amp; Dolphins: A Main Guide to Marine Mammals. London: HarperCollins. ISBNÃ, 0-00-220105-4. Ã,
- Heptner, V. G.; Nasimovich, A. A; Bannikov, Andrei Grigorevich; Hoffmann, Robert S, Mammals of the Soviet Union , Volume II, part 3 (1996). Washington, D.C.Ã,: The Smithsonian Institution Library and the National Science Foundation
External links
- Dominica Sperm Whale Project - a long-term scientific research program that focuses on the behavior of sperm whales units.
- Spermaceti in wax July 22, 2007
- Society for Marine Mammals Fact Sheet Sperm Facts
- The US National Whale Sperm Fishing Service web page
- 70 Mouth - information about sperm whales
- "Physty" - a healthy sperm whale recovered and released in 1981
- ARKive - Photos, videos.
- Whale Trackers - An online documentary that explores sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Conventions on migrating Species pages on Sperm Whales
- The Memorandum of Understanding Website for Cetacean and Habitat Preservation in the Pacific Islands Region
- The official website of the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Coniflex Atlantic Area
- Analysis of retroposon from main Cetacean lineage: Monophyly toothed whale and paraphyly river dolphin June 19, 2001
- Sound in the Sea - Sperm whale Sound
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