sperm whale
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AI overview
The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale in the world, living in the deep oceans where it hunts for food. These massive marine mammals are significant parts of ocean ecosystems and have long captured human interest through scientific study and cultural references like the novel Moby Dick.
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Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Subclass of
- whale
- Parent taxon
- Physeter
- Named after
- spermaceti
- Image
- Mother and baby sperm whale.jpg
Show 7 more facts
- P105
- species
- P141
- Vulnerable
- P1034
- Teuthida
- P7603
- Appendix I of CITES
Article
The sperm whale or cachalot (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale superfamily Physeteroidea, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia.
The sperm whale is a pelagic mammal with a worldwide range, and will migrate seasonally for feeding and breeding. Females and young males live together in groups, while mature males (bulls) live solitary lives outside of the mating season. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young. Females give birth every four to twenty years and care for the calves for more than a decade. A mature, healthy sperm whale has no natural predators, although calves and weakened adults are sometimes killed by pods of orcas.
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Animals that use echolocationAnimal taxa named by Carl LinnaeusApex predatorsCitation overkillCosmopolitan mammalsEDGE speciesESA endangered speciesFauna listed on CITES Appendix IIUCN Red List vulnerable speciesMammals described in 1758Sperm whalesSymbols of ConnecticutTaxonbars with 25–29 taxon IDs