Sperm whale
Amazing fact
A sperm whale’s blowhole sits on the left side near the front of its head.
国立科学博物館 海棲哺乳類データベース
No sign-up needed. You can save notes on this device.
An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
A sperm whale’s blowhole sits on the left side near the front of its head.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Sperm whale
- Scientific name
- Physeter macrocephalus
- Japanese name
- マッコウクジラ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Physeteridae
- Genus
- Physeter
Where the name “Sperm whale” comes from
The English name “sperm whale” refers to a waxy substance found in its head.
NOAA FisheriesA whale of deep oceans all over the world, found from near the equator to the edge of the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic.
It has a huge, square head. An oil-filled sac inside the head helps it focus sound.
It hunts during deep dives, eating squid, sharks and fish that live in the deep sea.
How the Sperm whale lives
After a long, deep dive, it surfaces to breathe. It spends some time at the surface before diving again. Females form social groups with female relatives and their young.
NOAA FisheriesBasic data
- Size
- males 15–18 m, females 11–13 m
- Weight
- males 36–68 t, females 12–18 t
Where the Sperm whale has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- マッコウクジラ
- 简体中文
- 抹香鲸
- 繁體中文
- 抹香鯨
- 한국어
- 향고래
- Español
- Cachalote
- Français
- Cachalot
- Deutsch
- Pottwal
- Português (Brasil)
- Cachalote
- Italiano
- Capodoglio
- العربية
- حوت العنبر
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Paus sperma
- Tiếng Việt
- Cá nhà táng
- Русский
- Кашалот
- Türkçe
- İspermeçet balinası
- ไทย
- วาฬสเปิร์ม
- اردو
- Sperm whale
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 国立科学博物館 海棲哺乳類データベース — マッコウクジラChecked: 2026-11-03
- NOAA Fisheries — Sperm whaleChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeRELATIVES
Others in Artiodactyla
MORE TO MEET
