# Sperm whale (*Physeter macrocephalus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/sperm-whale  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. The sperm whale is an invertivore at the carnivore trophic level whose main food is teuthida, and its activity pattern is cathemeral.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 10.1 t – 14 t |
| Length | 16 m |
| Lifespan | 77 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 100 years |
| Main food | teuthida |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 426 days – 487 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 10.6 years – 15.7 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.23 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Cetacea
- family: Physeteridae
- genus: Physeter
- species: *Physeter 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*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sperm-whale