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Livyatan is an extinct genus of macroraptorial sperm whale containing one known species: L. melvillei.The genus name was inspired by the biblical sea monster Leviathan, and the species name by Herman Melville, the author of the famous novel Moby-Dick about a white bull sperm whale.
They were not as heavily hunted as their larger counterpart Physeter macrocephalus, the sperm whale, which are typically 120,000 lb, thus preferred by whalers. [35] The pygmy sperm whale is also rather inactive and slow rising when coming to the surface and as such do not bring much attention to themselves.
The sperm whale or cachalot [a] (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 family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia.
The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest species of toothed whale, with adult bulls (males) growing to be about 15–18 m (49–59 ft) long, and weighing about 45–70 metric tons (44–69 long tons; 50–77 short tons). The two kogiid species are much smaller, around 2.5 to 3.5 m (8 ft 2 in to 11 ft 6 in) in length, and weighing ...
Physeter is a genus of toothed whales.There is only one living species in this genus: the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). [2] Some extremely poorly known fossil species have also been assigned to the same genus including Physeter antiquus (5.3–2.6 mya) from the Pliocene of France, [3] and Physeter vetus (2.6 mya – 12 ka) from the Quaternary of the U.S. state of Georgia. [4]
In contrast, the modern sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) lacks enamel, teeth in the upper jaw, and the ability to use its teeth to catch prey. [13] However, Livyatan belongs to a different lineage than the other macroraptorials, and the development of large size and the spermaceti organ , an organ that is characteristic of sperm whales, are ...
The genus name Zygophyseter comes from the Latin word zygomaticus, which emphasizes the elongation of the zygomatic process of the only known species Z. varolai, and the term physeter refers to the modern-day sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) of the family Physeteridae. The species name honors the discoverer. [1]
The whale looked overall similar to a rorqual, 18 metres (59 ft) long with an elongated body, but the most notable difference was the presence of two large dorsal fins about 2 metres (6.6 ft) apart. Other unusual features include the presence of two long sickle-shaped flippers and a lack of throat pleats.