While scientists have not been able to confirm exactly what this waxy substance is used for one common theory is that the spermaceti oil produced by the spermaceti organ assists the whale with buoyancy and helps it dive and rise in the water more quickly, however recent research has devalued this theory due to the sperm whale appearing to have insufficient biological systems for adjusting its buoyancy through …

It is composed of wax esters with a small proportion of triglycerides, an ester of an unsaturated fatty acid and a branched-chain fatty alcohol. The spermaceti organ is unique to sperm whales. It is composed of wax esters with a small proportion of triglycerides, an ester of an unsaturated fatty acid and a branched-chain fatty alcohol.
[6], Learn how and when to remove this template message, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559404/spermaceti-organ, "The nose of the sperm whale: overviews of functional design, structural homologies and evolution", https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19720017437.pdf, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spermaceti_organ&oldid=964877016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 28 June 2020, at 03:16. Geographical source: Physeter macrocephalus are naturally found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans chiefly near the coasts of Mozambique, Zanzibar and Ceylon. https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-161614/spermaceti/details On land, the casks of head-matter were allowed to chill during the winter, causing it to congeal into a spongy and viscous mass. This caused sperm oil's price to collapse to a tenth of its previous value. (1861 cartoon from Vanity Fair), [Transmission Digest, Volume 26, No. The whaling crew divided into two watches, worked six-hour shifts, day and night, until the job was finished. Due to the prohibition of extraction sperm whale, spermaceti in creams and ointments are often replaced or cetyl kitalanom and sometimes beeswax, jojoba oil, lanolin or cocoa butter. Spermaceti is a solid wax obtained from the head and blabber of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus Linn. [27] In 1972, the sperm whale was listed as an Endangered Species. Cosmetics containing a synthetic spermaceti, special storage conditions require.

[32][33] It was the basis of the original (but not current) Rust-Oleum. It worked well for fine, light machinery such as sewing machines and watches because it is thin, does not congeal or dry out and does not corrode metals. The hypotheses that the spermaceti organ is involved in buoyancy manipulation has been challenged by many authors, with the following points raised as problematic: the change in density that could be achieved by manipulation of spermaceti oil temperature would likely have a negligible impact on the animal’s overall buoyancy; the anatomical features that would be needed for heat exchange with the …

[21], Winter-strained sperm oil is roughly two-thirds wax esters and one third triglycerides. [5] A sperm whale may contain as much as 1,900 litres of this oil. [14] It retains its viscosity in high temperatures better than most oils. Cosmetics based on synthesized spermaceti, usually designed for daily care. [27], Sperm oil was a popular lubricant. From oil spermaceti crystallizes, forming shiny, oily to the touch plate, without taste and smell. [29] In the late 20th century, Jojoba oil was discovered to be a better substitute for high-friction applications because it is even more stable at high temperatures.

It is a natural antioxidant and heat-transfer agent. [4], The spermaceti organ in sperm whales is shaped like an elongated barrel and sits on top of the whale's melon.

[5], Blubber was stripped from the entire length of the whale (with other parts of the carcass often harvested for fashion products such as in the case of the Baleen whale), but the primary source of sperm oil was the spermaceti organ and the junk (or "melon"), the organs that serve to focus and modulate the animal's vocalizations.
[6] The matter from these organs was stored in casks to be processed on land; sometimes it was boiled first to prevent it going rancid. However, the nature of its function hasn’t been clearly understood historically. The blubber also contained smaller proportions of spermaceti, which was obtained by boiling the blubber on the ship itself.

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