Melon (cetacean)
Videos
The melon is a mass of adipose tissue found in the foreheads of all toothed whales. It focuses and modulates the animal's vocalizations and acts as a sound lens. It is thus a key organ involved in com
The bisected head of a dolphin: The melon is just above the upper jaw.
Three-dimensional models of various odontocete melons based on CT scans
Sperm whale
Videos
The sperm whale or cachalot 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
Melon (cetacean)
…to do with odontocete phylogeny, the taxonomic relationships over evolutionary time. In some species, melons are more specialized than in others. The sperm whale has the largest nose of any animal in the world. The bulk of that nose is composed of two large, fatty structures, the spermaceti organ and the "junk…
Mother and baby sperm whale
Unusual among cetaceans, the sperm whale's blowhole is highly skewed to the left side of the head.
A sperm whale skeleton
skeleton of a sperm whale, Museum of Nature and Environment, Lübeck Germany