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The spermaceti organ in sperm whales is shaped like an elongated barrel and sits on top of the whale's melon. Historically, the spermaceti oil found within it was used in a variety of products – including lamp oils, candles, and lubricants – providing the economic basis for the sperm whaling industry. [ 2 ]
Spermaceti is taken from the spermaceti organ (yellow) and junk (orange) within the sperm whale's head. Raw spermaceti is liquid within the head of the sperm whale, and is said to have a smell similar to raw milk. [8] It is composed mostly of wax esters (chiefly cetyl palmitate) and a smaller proportion of triglycerides. [9]
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.
In the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), the melon consists of an outer layer and an inner core, which has a generally larger proportion of wax esters than the outer layer. [10] Behind the melon is a cornucopia-shaped organ that many scientists refer to as the "spermaceti organ".
Like its giant relative, the sperm whale, the pygmy sperm whale has a spermaceti organ in its forehead (see sperm whale for a discussion of its purpose). It also has a sac in its intestines that contains a dark red fluid. The whale may expel this fluid when frightened, perhaps to confuse and disorient predators. [11]
After killing a sperm whale, the whalers would pull the carcass alongside the ship, cut off the cranium and haul it on deck, whereupon they would cut a hole in it and bail out the matter inside with a bucket. The primary source of sperm oil was the spermaceti organ and the junk (or "melon"), the organs that serve to focus and modulate the ...
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The sperm whale has a particularly pronounced melon; this is called the spermaceti organ and contains the eponymous spermaceti, hence the name "sperm whale". Even the long tusk of the narwhal is a vice-formed tooth.