Made famous
by Herman Melville's Moby Dick, this is the species
most people associate with the word 'whale'. The largest
of the toothed whales, it is dark brown to dark grey
in colour, with occasional albino and black individuals
being recorded. The skin is wrinkly and may be scarred.
Although the triangular tail flukes are broad and powerful,
flippers are short and stubby, and the dorsal fin is
usually more akin to a series of humps down the tail
stock's ridge than an actual 'fin'. The Sperm Whale's
head is over a third of the total body length of the
animal, and is well-known for being big and bulky and
barrel-shaped. Males are 15-20.5m in length and weigh
between 45-57 tonnes, with females measuring 11-13m
and weighing around 20 tonnes. The lower jaw holds approximately
50 rounded teeth in two parallel rows, each tooth weighing
over a kilogram.
