Эрдэмтэд кашалот халимны толгойн бүтцийн онцлог нь тэднийг хэрхэн аварга том хөлөг онгоцыг ч сөнөөх хүчин чадалтай болгодог болохыг судалж байна.
Түүхийн туршид кашалот халим өөрөөсөө хэд дахин том хөлөг онгоцыг хэрхэн сүйтгэж чаддаг байсан нь эрдэмтдийн анхаарлыг татсаар ирсэн. 1820 онд “Эссекс” хөлөг онгоц кашалотын дайралтад өртөж сөнөсөн нь тухайн үед ихээхэн шуугиан тарьж, алдарт “Моби Дик” зохиолыг бичихэд сэдэл өгсөн юм. Тус хөлөг онгоцны нэгдүгээр туслах Оуэн Чейс халимны дух нь мөргөгч багажны үүрэг гүйцэтгэдэг гэсэн таамаг дэвшүүлж байсан нь орчин үеийн судалгаагаар дахин анхаарал татаж эхэлжээ.
Кашалот халимны биеийн урттай харьцуулахад гуравны нэгийг эзэлдэг асар том толгойн дотор “спермацет” хэмээх лав төст бодисоор дүүрэн өвөрмөц эрхтэн байдаг. Эволюцийн биологич Дэйв Карриерын 2002 онд хийсэн судалгаагаар, энэхүү том эрхтэн нь халимны духыг байгалийн зэвсэг болгон хувиргаж, өрсөлдөгчтэйгөө мөргөлдөхөд ашиглагддаг байж болзошгүй гэж үзжээ.
Экофизиологич Алек Бурслемын судалгаагаар залуу кашалот халимнууд хоорондоо мөргөлдөх үед 460 килоньютон хүртэлх хүчийг үүсгэдэг болохыг бичлэгээр баримтжуулсан байна. Насанд хүрсэн халимны хувьд энэхүү цохилтын хүч 1,200 килоньютон хүрэх боломжтой бөгөөд энэ нь модон хөлөг онгоцыг ноцтой гэмтээхэд хангалттай үзүүлэлт юм.
Спермацет эрхтэн нь зөвхөн мөргөлдөхөөс гадна харилцаа холбоо тогтоох, дуу авианы дохио ашиглан бие биеэ үнэлэх зэрэг бусад үүрэг гүйцэтгэдэг байж магадгүй гэж эрдэмтэд таамаглаж байна. Хэдийгээр энэхүү эрхтний талаарх мэдлэг нэмэгдсээр байгаа ч түүний үйл ажиллагааны нарийн механизм болон далайн хамгийн хүчирхэг амьтдын нууцын талаар судлах зүйлс их хэвээр байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
For more than 200 years, there is was a question that has fascinated scientists and historians; how could a sperm whale destroy a ship several times bigger than itself? And a new paper stated that the answer may have been hidden inside the whale’s huge head all along.
The story goes back to the tragic sinking of the whaleship Essex in 1820, an event that later inspired Herman Melville’s famous novel Moby-Dick.
Today, scientists are finding evidence that this old idea may have been right. Inside the sperm whale’s head is a strange organ called the spermaceti organ, a structure that could help explain the incredible force behind the animal’s famous head strikes.
The Whale That Inspired Moby-Dick
On 20 November 1820, 15-year-old Thomas Nickerson was aboard the Essex when disaster struck. After a sperm whale damaged one of the ship’s smaller boats, Nickerson and several crew members rushed back toward the main vessel, thinking they had escaped the danger.
But another whale suddenly appeared. According to Nickerson’s account, the animal charged directly toward the Essex, hitting the ship with such power that the crew was knocked off their feet. The ocean animal moved away, turned around and came back for a second attack, smashing the bow and sinking the vessel.
The crew abandoned the Essex and faced a terrifying survival journey in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But how could a whale create enough force to destroy a wooden ship?
The answer may come from the animal’s unusual anatomy. For years, Owen Chase, the first mate of the Essex, argued that its forehead acted like a battering ram. His idea was mostly ignored by scientists for decades, but researchers have now started to examine whether he was correct.
A Giant Organ Hidden Inside The Giant Creature
Sperm whales are famous for their enormous heads, which can represent around one-third of their entire body length. Inside that huge forehead is the spermaceti organ, a large structure filled with a waxy substance that carries the same name.
The organ was once highly valuable to whalers. During the 18th and 19th Centuries, spermaceti oil was used to make fuel, candles and soaps. As reported by the BBC, around 300,000 sperm whales were killed worldwide during this period because of the demand for these products.Despite centuries of hunting, scientists still do not fully understand why sperm whales developed such a large organ. One theory suggests that it may help males fight each other.
“This wasn’t originally our hypothesis, it was Owen Chase’s,” said retired evolutionary biologist Dave Carrier. He explained that the idea came from the observations of a whaler who had seen the strength of these animals firsthand.
In a 2002 study, Carrier said that the giant animal enlarged forehead could have evolved as a natural weapon. He compared it to other mammals where males compete by charging into rivals, suggesting that this behaviour may have deeper evolutionary roots.
More recently, researchers captured rare footage of the predator using their heads during fights. Alec Burslem, an ecophysiologist at the University of Hawaii, recorded young males head-butting each other near the Balearic Islands and the Azores.
A Force Powerful Enough To Damage A Ship
Burslem recorded a young sperm whale moving at around 4.5 metres per second before striking another one, with the impact estimated at 460 kilonewtons. For a fully grown one travelling at the same speed, the force could reach around 1,200 kilonewtons, helping explain how these animals could cause serious damage to ships.
According to Michael Harrison, chief curator at the Historical Society in Nantucket, only three whaling ships are known to have been attacked by whales, and all involved sperm whales. These included the Ann Alexander, destroyed in the South Pacific in 1851, and the Kathleen, wrecked near the Galapagos Islands in 1902. However, the Essex remains the most famous case because of its impact on maritime history.
The spermaceti organ may have more than just a fighting role. Scientists believe it also helps the ocean creatures to communicate, with females potentially using sound signals to assess males. Despite recent discoveries, researchers still have much to learn about this unusual organ and the secrets hidden inside one of the ocean’s most powerful creatures.
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