Whale tooth

Mammoth tusk (N.E. Siberia)6 Mastadon6 Sperm whale tooth Whale bone (rib)... 

Figure 17 Scrimshaw modern faked specimen of sperm whale tooth spill vase/quill pen holder. 

Figure 18 FT-Raman stackplot spectra of scrimshaw specimens (a) hollow sperm whale tooth, (b) solid sperm whale tooth, (c) whalebone staybusk, and (d) spill vase/quill pen holder. Minor spectroscopic differences confirm the whalebone origin of the staybusk. The modern resin composition of the spill vase/quill pen holder is also unambiguously identified from the aromatic ring stretching bands at 3060 cm and 1600 cm". (Reproduced with permission from HGM Edwards, DW Farwell, T Seddon, JKF Tait. Scrimshaw Real or Fake An FT-Raman Diagnostic Study. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 26 623-628. 1995. John Wiley and Sons Ltd.)...

Spectroscopy has played a role in the characterization of genuine scrimshaw. Figure 6 shows a stack-plot of Raman spectra of carved solid and hollow sperm whale-tooth scrimshaw specimens, a staybusk,... 

Cetacea (0/10) The Whales are avomic in both toothed and baleen types other nasal systems (Chap. 2) take over (Aguilar, 1981 Kuznetzov, 1988 Oelschlaeger, 1989). 

Oelschlaeger H.A. (1989). Development of the N. terminalis in mammals, including toothed whales and humans. Ann NY Acad Sci 519, 447-464. 

Dolphins and toothed whales blubber total PCBs... 

Tooth and tusk ivory can be carved into an almost infinite variety of shapes and objects. A small example of carved ivory objects are small (50) statuary, netsukes, jewelry, flatware handles, furniture inlays, and piano keys. Additionally, wart hog tusks, and teeth from sperm whales, killer whales, and hippos can also be scrimshawed or superficially carved, thus retaining their original shapes as morphologically recognizable objects. 

PCB contamination has been observed in the toothed whales iOdontocett) that consume fish, seabird, and other marine mammals. Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus, which feed on deepwater squid, have intermediate loads, whereas the predatory dolphins, which feed closer to the surface, carry higher loads. The highest loads have been observed in killer whales (Orcinus orca ), whose diets consists of salmon and seal. In contrast, the baleen whales (Mysttcett) carry much lower loads as their diet is composed of zooplankton. Even whales living in the middle of the ocean fer from land have detectable levels of PCBs and DDT. 

Even marine mammals may use airborne odors for food detection. Baleen whales (Mysticeti) feed on krill near the ocean s surface. Oldtime Antarctic whalers noted a krill odor near large schools of krill. Cruising at the surface and inhaling periodically, baleen whales may detect krill odor. Anatomically, they have a well-developed olfactory organ (Cave, 1988), in contrast to toothed whales (Kusnetzov, 1988). 

Kurland, L. T. (1972). An appraisal of the neurotoxicity of cycad and the etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on Guam. Federation Proceedings 31,1540-1542. Kusnetzov, V. B. (1988). Problem of olfaction reduction in Odontoceti toothed whales. Zhurnal Olschei Biologii 49,128-135. 

Top hippopotamus tooth center boars tusk bottom sperm whale teeth. 

The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is the largest of all toothed whales and the largest extant carnivore. It lives in deep waters in most of the world s oceans, though it is only the mature males that visit Arctic waters. It is recognised by its huge, square head. 

In the nineteenth century the whaling fleets of America and Europe produced carvings now known as scrimshaw . A lot of whale bone was used, as well as ivory. The huge pan bones from the toothed whales could be made into large, solid pieces of equipment such as meat hammers, or blocks and cleats for the ship s rigging. Because bone is less likely to warp than ivory, it was also made into more specialised equipment such as rulers and gauges. The smaller, finer and more decorative objects that were produced by the scrimshanders were more likely to be made of ivory than of bone, and were made for use in the home rather than on board ship. 

On the next level upward in the pelagic food web are the primary consumers, the zooplankton (microscopic animals). They feed on phytoplankton and, in turn, become food for larger animals (secondary consumers) such as sardines, herring, tuna, bonito, and other kinds of fish and swimming mammals. At the top of this food web are the ultimate consumers, the toothed whales. (A baleen whale s diet consists mostly of plankton). 

Whales breathed easier once they no longer had to lift a snout above water. As ancient whales spent more time immersed, the nostrils migrated from the tip of the nose to the top of the head, making quick work of a breath of fresh air. Blowholes help distinguish modern forms—toothed whales generally exhibit one, while baleens are split in two. 

Litchfield, C., Greenberg, A.J., Caldwell, D.K., Caldwell, M.C., Sipos, J.C. and Ackman, R.G. (1975) Comparative lipid patterns in acoustical and nonacoustical fatty tissue of dolphins, porpoises and toothed whales. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 50B, 591-597. 

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