Description category description
Latin name: Physeter macrocephalus
Common Name: Cachalote (PT) / Sperm Whale (EN) / Cachelot (FR)
Photo:
Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable
CITES status: NO
Short species description:
The sperm whale, Physeter...
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Description category description
Latin name: Physeter macrocephalus
Common Name: Cachalote (PT) / Sperm Whale (EN) / Cachelot (FR)
Photo:
Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable
CITES status: NO
Short species description:
The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine
mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale
(odontocete) having the largest brain of any animal.
The
name comes from the milky-white waxy substance,
spermaceti, found in the animal s head.
The sperm whale is
the only living member of genus Physeter.
The now outdated
synonym Physeter catodon refers to the same species.
It is
one of three extant species in the sperm whale super family,
along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale.
A mature male can grow to 20.
5 meters (67 ft) long.
It is the
largest living toothed animal.
For large males, the head can
represent up to one-third of the animal s length.
It has a
cosmopolitan distribution across the oceans.
The species
feeds primarily on squid but
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