Definition of Macrocephalus. Meaning of Macrocephalus. Synonyms of Macrocephalus
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Definition of Macrocephalus
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Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Sperm" whale` (Zo["o]l.)
A very large toothed whale (Physeter macrocephalus), having
a head of enormous size. The upper jaw is destitute of teeth.
In the upper part of the head, above the skull, there is a
large cavity, or case, filled with oil and spermaceti. This
whale sometimes grows to the length of more than eighty feet.
It is found in the warmer parts of all the oceans. Called
also cachalot, and spermaceti whale.
Pygmy sperm whale (Zo["o]l.), a small whale (Kogia
breviceps), seldom twenty feet long, native of tropical
seas, but occasionally found on the American coast. Called
also snub-nosed cachalot.
Sperm-whale porpoise (Zo["o]l.), a toothed cetacean
(Hypero["o]don bidens), found on both sides of the
Atlantic and valued for its oil. The adult becomes about
twenty-five feet long, and its head is very large and
thick. Called also bottle-nosed whale.
Physeter macrocephalus Ambergris Am"ber*gris, n. [F. ambre gris, i. e., gray amber;
F. gris gray, which is of German origin: cf. OS. gr[^i]s, G.
greis, gray-haired. See Amber.]
A substance of the consistence of wax, found floating in the
Indian Ocean and other parts of the tropics, and also as a
morbid secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale
(Physeter macrocephalus), which is believed to be in all
cases its true origin. In color it is white, ash-gray,
yellow, or black, and often variegated like marble. The
floating masses are sometimes from sixty to two hundred and
twenty-five pounds in weight. It is wholly volatilized as a
white vapor at 212[deg] Fahrenheit, and is highly valued in
perfumery. --Dana.
Physeter macrocephalus Cachalot Cach"a*lot, n. [F. cachalot.] (Zo["o]l.)
The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). It has in the top
of its head a large cavity, containing an oily fluid, which,
after death, concretes into a whitish crystalline substance
called spermaceti. See Sperm whale.
