10 Interesting Facts About Sperm Whales

Welcome to Nature's Compendium. Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales and live in oceans all around the world. In this video, we will be going over 10 interesting facts about these massive marine predators. Enjoy! Sperm whales are the only living members of the Phyceteridae family within the Phyceteroidea clade. While several extinct genera have been assigned to the Phyceteroidea clade, there is still much to learn about the evolutionary history of these animals. Pharycidotherium is the most primitive fossil specimen found to possess sperm whale-specific traits, such as the asymmetric snout. This species was found in modern-day Azerbaijan and lived during the Late Oligocene from 28 to 23 million years ago. Zygophyceter was a prehistoric sperm whale with an elongated snout, equipped with 13 teeth on the upper jaw and 14 teeth on the lower jaw. Zygophyceter was discovered in Italy and lived from 11.2 to 7.6 million years ago. Acrophyceter and leviathan were two species of raptorial sperm whales from the Pisco Formation of modern-day Peru. Given its larger size, leviathan would have hunted the smaller whales of the region and may have competed with the mighty megalodon for resources. Today, the only living relatives of sperm whale are the pygmy sperm whale and the dwarf sperm whale. Both animals are members of the cogidae family and have the unique ability to produce ink to help evade predators. The name sperm whale comes from a waxy white substance found in the spermaceti organ located inside of a sperm whale's head. Early whalers mistook this liquid as the animal's semen and thus the name spermaceti oil came about. Spermaceti was used in a variety of commercial goods including lamp oils, soaps, and cosmetics. This made sperm whales popular amongst whalers throughout the 18th and mid-19th century since crude oil hadn't been discovered yet. In fact, the world-renowned novel Moby Dick is based on an albino sperm whale. While the exact function of spermaceti is still debated, the most likely theory is that it's aiding in the animal's echolocation. Adult sperm whales have the largest brains of any living animal. While human brains weigh an average of 1.4 kilograms, sperm whale brains weigh an average of 7.8 kilograms. In the sperm whale brain, the olfactory system is reduced, suggesting that the animals have a poor sense of taste and smell. On the other hand, the auditory system is enlarged, showing that these animals rely heavily on sound. Which brings us to our next fact. Sperm whales are the loudest animals alive, producing clicks of up to 230 decibels. Sperm whales primarily hunt in the twilight zone of the oceans, where very little to no light reaches. Thus, these animals rely on echolocation to locate their prey. By emitting these high-pitched clicks and listening to the echoes as they bounce off of objects, sperm whales are able to locate their prey items within the dark oceans. Sperm whales also produce a series of clicks called codas. Each whale has their own distinctive coda, and scientists believe that this is how sperm whales recognize one another. Sperm whales can dive up to 2,250 meters and can remain submerged for 90 minutes at a time. However, sperm whales are not the deepest diving mammals. That title goes to the Cuvier's beaked whale, with one being recorded at a depth of 2,992 meters. The animal's dive lasted 2 hours and 17 minutes, making the Cuvier's beaked whale both the deepest and the longest diving mammal. Sperm whales dive so deep to hunt for their favorite prey items, the giant and colossal squid. These massive cephalopods, along with other squid species, make up 80% of the sperm whale's diet. The remaining 20% of their diets consist of octopi, crustaceans, and fish. While sperm whales can easily overpower the squid, these cephalopods don't go down without a fight. The giant and colossal squid leave nasty marks all across the sperm whale's body, using their sucker teeth, powerful beaks, and tentacle hooks to inflict wounds. With their heavily squid-based diet, the indigestible parts of the squid, including the beaks, pens, and eyelids, begin to accumulate over time in the whale's digestive tract. Normally, sperm whales can either vomit or defecate the indigestible parts out. In rare cases, however, the indigestible parts, along with parasitic worms, fecal matter, and protective wax, clump together and are unable to pass. The clump grows bigger and bigger over time until it will be either defecated out or eventually rupture the whale's colon, killing the animal. Once the clump is released from the animal's body, it floats about the ocean for years. Sunlight and salt water, along with bacteria and enzymes within the mass, purify the clump, leading to chemical processes that produce a sweet scent, and thus the clump becomes known as ambergris. The unique scent of ambergris is what is used to enhance perfumes, and this makes ambergris very valuable and highly sought after. In fact, a 1.57 kg lump of ambergris is worth up to 71,000 USD, making it more valuable than gold. Sperm whales are highly social animals and live in pods of up to 15-20 animals. Female sperm whales live in large groups with their young and stay near the tropics year-round, whereas male sperm whales migrate to the north and south poles while coming back to the tropics to breed. The larger pods allow the female sperm whales to better protect their babies from predators like orcas and great white sharks. Male and female sperm whales differ in more ways than just their lifestyles. For starters, the largest of male sperm whales measure 21 meters in length and weigh up to 57 metric tons. Average males tend to be around 18 meters in length and weigh 42 metric tons. Female sperm whales, on average, are only 12 meters long and weigh 15 metric tons in comparison. In addition, male sperm whales have up to 50 teeth in their lower jaw, whereas female sperm whales tend to have fewer teeth. Some females are even toothless entirely. This is mainly because sperm whales don't need their teeth to catch prey, as they rely mainly on a form of suction feeding. Male sperm whales mainly use their teeth for intraspecific competition with other males over breeding rights. Being such a large animal must be tiring work, yet surprisingly sperm whales don't spend much time sleeping. In fact, sperm whales tend to only nap for 10-15 minutes a day. Their nap time only accounts for 7% of their day, making sperm whales the least sleep-dependent mammal. The animals also assume a vertical position while sleeping, which scientists believe allows for the animals to experience a deeper sleep. Shh, let's try not to disturb them. Before I end the video, I want to give a special thank you to Rydian Croft for assisting in additional art assets. If you enjoyed this video and would like to see more, be sure to subscribe to the channel and follow Nature's Compendium on social media and discord. You can also support the channel on Patreon and get some neat rewards in return. As always, thank you for watching.