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Marine Mammals Information Database ：Illustrated Guide of Marine Mammals
Sperm whale
Scientific Name : Physeter macrocephalus / Japanese Name : makkou-kujira
Details
| Order | Cetartiodactyla |
|---|---|
| Suborder | Odontoceti |
| Family | Physeridae |
| Genus | Physeter |
| Species | macrocephalus |
| Subspecies | - |
| Subtype | - |
| CITES Appendix | I | IUCN RedData Status | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baleen plates or tooth-Upper jaw | - | Baleen plates or tooth-Lower jaw | 18-25 |
| At birth | At weaning | Adult | Adult male | Adult female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body length | 11.5-16.5ft | 22.0ft | - | 49.0-59.0ft | 36.0-42.5ft |
| Body weight | 1t | 2.7t | - | 36-68t | 12-18t |
| Feature and Habit |
|---|
| They have the huge and squarish head. The blowhole is shifted to the left on the forehead. The lower jaw is slender and has large and conical teeth. The dorsal fin is hump-like and along the dorsal ridge to the tail stock are number of smaller bulges.The flippers are small and quadrilateral. The body is dark brown-gray and tend to have creases over the surface except the head. There are short grooves at the throat. The upper jaw has no tooth and the in lower jaw tooth count ranges 18-25 each side. In general, they inhabit in offshore waters. They are highly social. They segregate by sex. Sometimes they are in (maternal) pods of 40 to 50 whales. |
| Description |
| Stranding Record(s) in Japan |
| Map ▼ |
Marine Mammals Skull Database
A click on the skull thumb nail will bring you to detailed images.
| Sex | - | Reproductive Condition | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body length | - | Locality | - |
| Museum No. | - | Other No. | - |
