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The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a relatively blunt snout, a large melon, and a shallow ridge in place of a dorsal fin. Males of this species have a large (1.5–3.0 m (4 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in)) long tusk, which is a protruding left canine thought to function as a weapon, a tool for feeding, in attracting mates or sensing water salinity.
In medieval and Renaissance times, the tusk of the narwhal was sometimes sold as a unicorn horn. A bovine type of unicorn is thought by some scholars to have been depicted in seals of the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization, the interpretation remaining controversial.
Horn combs were common in the era before replacement by plastic, and are still made. Horn needle cases and other small boxes, particularly of water buffalo horn, are still made. One occasionally finds horn used as a material in antique snuff boxes. Horn strips for inlaying wood are a traditional technique.
Narwhal or Nostril whale (Monodon monoceros). Melville writes at length about this whale, which at the time was a well-known denizen of the polar seas. He describes the horn of the narwhal and speculates on its purpose. According to Melville, it is also known as the tusked whale, horned whale and the unicorn whale.
Belugas can be found in the far north of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; the distribution of narwhals is restricted to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. Monodontids have a wide-ranging carnivorous diet, feeding on fish, molluscs, and small crustaceans. They have reduced teeth, with the beluga having numerous simple teeth, and the narwhal having ...
Giraffidae: Giraffids have a pair of skin covered bony bumps on their heads, called ossicones. Cervidae: Most deer have antlers, which are not true horns due to lacking a bone core and made of keratin. Rhinocerotidae: The "horns" of rhinos are made of keratin and lack a bone core.
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In particular, the characteristic narwhal 'horn' is anatomically a tooth; the unidentified specimen lacked a single narwhal tusk, but its teeth were spiraled, like the tusk of a narwhal. [5] [3] The specimen had 18 teeth, an intermediate number when compared to the beluga (40 teeth) and the narwhal (one tooth). However, not all characters fell ...