snub-nosed cachalot

2 definitions found

snub-nosed cachalot - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Snub-nosed \Snub"-nosed`\, a.
     Having a short, flat nose, slightly turned up; as, the
     snub-nosed eel.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Snub-nosed cachalot (Zool.), the pygmy sperm whale.
        [1913 Webster]

  Sperm whale \Sperm" whale`\ (Zool.)
     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.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Pygmy sperm whale (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), a toothed cetacean
        (Hyperoodon 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.
        [1913 Webster]