oceany: Sperm whale

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

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 m…

Evidence: 65 • authority: 92

Astrocyte properties in cetacean cortices.. Cetacean neurons are far more extensively studied in the scientific literature than the other principal cell type of the central nervous system-glia. To help address this knowledge gap, the current study profiled astrocytes in five cetacean species-Tursiops truncatus (Tt), Orcinus orca (Oo), Ziphius cavirostris (Zc), Pseudorca crassidens (Pc), and Kogia breviceps (Kb) with brain masses ranging from 596 g in Kb to 6215 g for Oo. Using formalin-fixed brain tissues stained with anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein antibodies, astrocyte distributions across cortical regions were profiled for each animal, including measurements of astrocyte diameter. R…

Evidence: 45 • authority: 92

Vowel- and Diphthong-Like Spectral Patterns in Sperm Whale Codas.. The sperm whale communication system, consisting of groups of clicks called codas , has been primarily analyzed in terms of the number of clicks and their inter-click timing. This paper reports spectral properties in sperm whale vocalizations and demonstrates that spectral properties are highly structured, discretely distributed across codas, and uttered in dialogues, rather than being a physical artefact of whale movement. We report formant structure in whale codas and uncover previously unobserved spectral patterns. We argue that these spectral properties freely combine with the traditionally analyzed properties. We presen…

Evidence: 45 • authority: 72