Sperm whale
Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758
VUVulnerablewhales and dolphins
The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is a marine mammal in the family Physeteridae, suborder Odontoceti and order Cetacea, within the whales and dolphins group. It falls in the giant size class, with a representative adult body mass of 14.02 tonnes, and the IUCN Red List assesses it as Vulnerable, a threatened category.
Quick facts about the sperm whale
The sperm whale is an invertivore at the carnivore trophic level whose main food is teuthida, and its activity pattern is cathemeral.
- Weight
- 10.1 t – 14 tsrc for Weight
- Length
- 16 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 77 years – 100 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- teuthidasrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 426 days – 487 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 10.6 years – 15.7 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.23src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Live birthsrc for Reproduction
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the sperm whale?
Photos of the sperm whale
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the sperm whale live?
Not recorded
What is the sperm whale?
The sperm whale or cachalot (Physeter macrocephalus) 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 superfamily Physeteroidea, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia.
The sperm whale is a pelagic mammal with a worldwide range, and will migrate seasonally for feeding and breeding. Females and young males live together in groups, while mature males (bulls) live solitary lives outside of the mating season. The females cooperate to protect and nurse their young. Females give birth every four to twenty years and care for the calves for more than a decade. A mature, healthy sperm whale has no natural predators, although calves and weakened adults are sometimes killed by pods of orcas.
Mature males average 16 metres (52 ft) in length, with the head representing up to one-third of the animal's length. Plunging to 2,250 metres (7,380 ft), it is the third deepest diving mammal, exceeded only by the southern elephant seal and Cuvier's beaked whale. The sperm whale uses echolocation and vocalization with source level as loud as 236 decibels (re 1 μPa m) underwater, the loudest of any animal. It has the largest brain on Earth, more than five times heavier than a human's. Sperm whales can live 70 years or more.
Sperm whales' heads are filled with a waxy substance called "spermaceti" (sperm oil), from which the whale derives its name. Spermaceti was a prime target of the whaling industry and was sought after for use in oil lamps, lubricants, and candles. Ambergris, a solid waxy waste product sometimes present in its digestive system, is still highly valued as a fixative in perfumes, among other uses. Beachcombers look out for ambergris as flotsam. Sperm whaling was a major industry in the 19th century, depicted in the novel Moby-Dick. The species is protected by the International Whaling Commission moratorium, and is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
From the Wikipedia article “Sperm whale” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sperm_whale&oldid=1383321842), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the sperm whale endangered?
The sperm whale is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the sperm whale classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCetacea
- familyPhyseteridae
- genusPhyseter
- SpeciesPhyseter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Catodon australis, Catodon colneti, Catodon krefftii, Catodon macrocephalus, Cetus cylindricus, Delphinus bayeri, Phiseter cylindricus, Phiseter mular, Phiseter trumpo, Physalus cylindricus, Physeter andersonii, Physeter australasianus, Physeter australasiensis, Physeter australis, Physeter catodon, Physeter cylindricus, Physeter maximus, Physeter microps, Physeter microps rectidentatus, Physeter mular, Physeter novaeangliae, Physeter orthodon, Physeter trumpo, Physeter tursio, Physeterus sulcatus, Tursio vulgaris
Other names and names in other languages (141)
- CachalotEnglish
- CachelotEnglish
- Chocolate whaleEnglish
- Pot whaleEnglish
- Spermacet whaleEnglish
- Trompe whaleEnglish
- TrumpoEnglish
- potvisAfrikaans
- adagigAleut
- Ag-tkha-GikhAleut
- aggadakhgikAleut
- anbarArabic
- حوت العنبرArabic
- عنبر (anbar)Arabic
- RomuAsturian
- C'hwezher brasBreton
- catxalotCatalan
- CapodogliuCorsican
- VorvaňCzech
- vorvaň obrovskýCzech
- vorvaň tuponosýCzech
- morfil sbermWelsh
- Morfilod SbermWelsh
- KaskelothvalDanish
- spermacethvalDanish
- PottwalGerman
- ΦυσητήραςGreek
- φυσητήρας (fysitíras)Greek
- fysitirasGreek
- KaĉalotoEsperanto
- guapoSpanish
- Ballena de espermaSpanish
- ballena espermaSpanish
- cachaloteSpanish
- cachalote comúnSpanish
- Cachalote giganteSpanish
- chacaloteSpanish
- fiseterSpanish
- KašelottEstonian
- KaxaloteBasque
- KatxaloteaBasque
- نهنگ عنبرPersian
- kaskelottiFinnish
- AugusturFaroese
- grand cachalotFrench
- cachalot à dents en faucilleFrench
- cachalot à dents pointuesFrench
- cachalot macrocéphaleFrench
- CaisealóidIrish
- muc-mhara spùtachScottish Gaelic
- mucan-mara spùtachScottish Gaelic
- PalaoaHawaiian
- ראשתןHebrew
- לווייתן זרעHebrew
- ראשתן גדול ראשHebrew
- ראשתן גדול-ראשHebrew
- ראשתן (roshtan)Hebrew
- roshtanHebrew
- ulješuraCroatian
- nagy ámbráscetHungarian
- ԿաշալոտArmenian
- paus lodanIndonesian
- Ikan paus spermaIndonesian
- Paus SpermaIndonesian
- KashalotoIdo
- búrhvalurIcelandic
- BúriIcelandic
- tweld-hvalIcelandic
- fisetereItalian
- capodoglioItalian
- cascialottoItalian
- organanteItalian
- マッコウクジラJapanese
- makko kujiraJapanese
- chigatGeorgian
- კაშალოტიGeorgian
- kegutilikKalaallisut
- kigitulikKalaallisut
- kigutilissuaqKalaallisut
- 향고래Korean
- hyang-goraeKorean
- koiapchakkpy
- PotvèsLimburgish
- kašalotasLithuanian
- KašalotsLatvian
- trozona be lohaMalagasy
- trozona amam-taimboMalagasy
- ParaoaMāori
- gabdollMaltese
- Łóóʼtsoh bitsiiʼ dikʼáníNavajo
- kaskelotthvalNorwegian Bokmål
- spermasetthvalNorwegian Bokmål
- kaizilotDutch
- potvischDutch
- kaskelottNorwegian Nynorsk
- kaskelottkvalNorwegian Nynorsk
- spermasettkvalNorwegian Nynorsk
- spermkvalNorwegian Nynorsk
- potfiskNorwegian
- bardhvalurNorwegian
- burdhvalurNorwegian
- burr-hvalNorwegian
- huns-hvalNorwegian
- kascelotNorwegian
- knobbe-herreNorwegian
- spermhvalNorwegian
- storhufdNorwegian
- sue-hvalNorwegian
- KachalotePapiamento
- KaszalotPolish
- kaszalot (zwyczajny)Polish
- Kaszalot spermacetowyPolish
- olbrotowickPolish
- potwal olbrotowiecPolish
- سپرم وہیلWestern Panjabi
- CașalotRomanian
- кашало́тRussian
- bolshoi plavunRussian
- spermatsetovyi kitRussian
- wolkmorskoiRussian
- kaskelohttaNorthern Sami
- glavačSlovenian
- kit glavačSlovenian
- bahranSindhi
- kashalotAlbanian
- kashalotiAlbanian
- УљешураSerbian
- kaskelotSwedish
- pottfiskSwedish
- ratchatha thimingalamTamil
- วาฬหัวทุยThai
- plawan huathuiThai
- kasalotTurkish
- ispermeçetTurkish
- ispermecet balinasiTurkish
- ispermeçet balinasıTurkish
- kaşalotTurkish
- КашалотUkrainian
- Cá nhà tángVietnamese
- 抹香鯨Chinese
- 抹香鲸Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the sperm whale
Other species in the same family Physeteridae.
CompareSperm whale vs Diaphorocetus ortegaiSperm whale vs Ambergrisichnus alleronaeSperm whale vs Thalassocetus antwerpiensis
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the sperm whale?
The sperm whale is a marine mammal in the family Physeteridae, order Cetacea, part of the whales and dolphins group.
How heavy is a sperm whale?
An adult sperm whale has a representative body mass of 14.02 tonnes. The lowest value reported by our sources is 10.1 tonnes.
What does the sperm whale eat?
The sperm whale's main food is teuthida. It is classed as an invertivore at the carnivore trophic level.
Is the sperm whale endangered?
The sperm whale is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does a sperm whale live?
The sperm whale's lifespan is 77 years, with values up to 100 years reported by our sources.
How many young does a sperm whale have?
A sperm whale has 1 young per litter, at a rate of 0.23 litters per year, after a gestation period of 456.6 days (1.3 years).
Who named the sperm whale?
The scientific name Physeter macrocephalus was given by Linnaeus, 1758.
What are other names for the sperm whale?
Other English names for the sperm whale are Trumpo, Cachelot, Cachalot, Pot whale and Trompe whale.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sperm-whale
“Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/sperm-whale.
@misc{sperm_whale_2026,
title = {Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/sperm-whale},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}