Sperm Whale
or CACHALOT, the Physeter macrocephalus, a species of cetacea belonging to the section of the whale order denominated "toothed" whales, generally met with in the Pacific, but occasionally also on the coast of Greenland. The large blunt head in an old male is sometimes thirty feet long, and forms about a third of the total length of the body; while the "blowholes" or S-shaped nostrils are situated in the front part of the head. The weight of an adult animal is estimated SPEY at about 200 tons, and in a male 66 feet long the flipper measured 5 feet 3 inches, and the two-lobed tail fin had a breadth of nearly 20 feet. The top of the back is continued almost in a straight line from the upper part of the head; the belly is enormous, but the body thins off toward the wide tail. The color is a blackish-gray, which may exhibit greenish or bluish hues on the upper parts. The teeth of the lower jaw average each about three inches in length. This whale is of considerable commercial value.
See SPERMACETI.