Narwhal

Marine mammals ringed seal, harbor seal, harbor porpoise, beluga whale, narwhal, polar bear. 

Ivory, or dentine, the main constituent of the teeth of mammals, is a relatively hard, cream-white material that can be carved or mechanically formed, and its surface can be polished to a high shine (O Connor et al. 1987 Wills 1968). Of particular interest is the ivory that makes up the tusks (large incisor teeth) of large mammals such as elephants, hippopotami, whales, narwhals, and... 

Narwhal, Monodon monoceros Kidney Liver Muscle Skin... 

Murray, B.W. and White, B.N., Sequence variation at the major histocompatibility complex DRB loci in beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) and narwhal (Monodon monoceros), Immuno genetics, 48, 242, 1998. 

Odontoceti Beaked whales, beluga whales, narwhal, sperm whale, dolphin, porpoise 32 64 2% All oceans, and some rivers and estuaries... 

Figure 4.15 Plot ofa-HBCDD enantiomer fractions (EFs) versus trophic level within an eastern Arctic food web. Clams, narwhal, beluga, and walrus had EF values statistically different than that of an external standard. (Reproduced with permission from Environmental Science and Technology, Enantioselective Bioaccumulation of Hexabromocyclododecane and Congener-Specific Accumulation of Brominated Diphenyl Ethers in an Eastern Canadian Arctic Marine Food Web, by Gregg T. Tomy, Kerri Pleskach et al., 42(10), 3634-3639. Copyright (2008) American Chemical Society)...

Norstrom, R.J. Muir, D.C.G. Ford, C.A. Simon, M. Macdonald, C.R. Beland, P., Indications of P450 monooxygenase activities in beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas) and narwhal (Monodon monoceros) from patterns of PCB, PCDD and PCDF accumulation Mar. Environ. Res. 1992, 34, 267-272. 

There are consistent attempts in the literature to interpret specific biotransformation of PCBs that occurred in an organism from the relative ratio of X-CB to that of a reference CB-Y. The later could be CB-153, CB-138 (2,2, 3,4,4, 5-hexa CB), and CB-180 (2,2, 3,4,4, 5,5 -hepta CB) [52]. Such structure-dependent metabolism studies predicted induction of Cytochrome P450 isozymes in the marine food chain [59], small cetaceans [52], beluga and narwhal [60], river dolphins [61], pinnipeds [52], aquatic fauna including invertebrates [62], and in humans [63]. Comprehensive characterization of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes in whales and pinnipeds has been carried out to show the utility of this approach [51,64]. 

F ure 3.5 Tno tupilaks from Greenland. Mid-twentieth century. Spermwhale ivory (standing) and narwhal ivory. 

A whole narwhal tusk is very spectacular, and, as part of the appeal of narwhal tusks was the belief that they were unicorn horns, they were usually left intact. In this form they were used for bishops croziers, and shorter lengths were used for canes or in furniture. A notable example is the throne which was made for the coronation of Christian V of Denmark in 1671. 

Figiue 3.14 Secnon of narwhal tusk showing spiral. 

The diagnostic for certain ivories is their structural patterns, for example the engine turning pattern in elephant or mammoth ivory, the tapioca pudding look of the secondary dentine in walrus ivory, the diagonal pattern on narwhal ivory and the concentric lines and dark central spot of sperm whale ivory (F 3.4 and 3.12-3.17). In larger carvii or objects, the curvature of a tusk may be detectable. Examination of the structural pattern is needed to determine which type of tusk has been used. 

Narwhal Upper incisor Straight, spirals anticlockwise, 2 m Round with peripheral indentations Slight diagonal lines finrn spiralling, hollow Clearly defined junction with dentine Concentric lines... 

Subsistence Hunters. Native American populations, such as the Inuit of Alaska and other subsistence hunters (particularly those living in high latitude areas of the United States), may be exposed to mercury in wild game (e.g., seals, narwhal, walrus, and other game species or marine mammals). 

Samples of seal blubber from the high-arctic archipelago Svalbard contained levels of polychlorinated camphenes comparable with those found in biota in the Baltic (Andersson et al. 1988), and the same group of compounds was dominant in samples of narwhal (Monodon monoceros) blubber from Pond Inlet, Baffin Island in the Canadian high arctic (Muir et al. 1992). 

Muir, D.C.G., C.A. Ford, N.P. Grift, and R.E.A. Stewart. 1992. Organochlorine contaminants in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) from the Canadian arctic. Environ. Pollut. 75 307-316. 

Fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, 442 Minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, 751 Narwhal whale, Monodon monoceros, 834 Pilot whales, Globicephala melas, 85,442 Sperm whale, Physeter spp., 207,442,464 Ziphius sp., 625... 

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