VulnerableSperm Whale
Physeter macrocephalus
154 countries38 parks20 dive sites
Species group · Mammals
WAnimals has 3 species of sperm whale, spread across 2 families (Kogiidae, Physeteridae).
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 3.
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
1 species in this group is in a threatened category according to the IUCN.
Recorded in 176 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
It has the largest brain of any known animal, which can weigh up to 9.2 kg.
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It can stay submerged for up to 90 to 140 minutes hunting deep-sea squid, including the giant squid.
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It shows marked sexual dimorphism: males can weigh more than twice as much as females.
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Its head recalls a shark's, with a false gill marked behind the eye.
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It releases a cloud of reddish gut fluid to confuse predators, much as a squid does.
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It is one of the least known cetaceans, with too little data on its population.
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It releases a cloud of reddish fluid, like a curtain of ink, to escape.
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When threatened it releases a cloud of reddish fluid from an intestinal sac, creating a smokescreen under water just as a squid does with its ink.
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