The length of a horned whale is generally 4 to 5 meters (excluding tusks), with males slightly longer than females. Adult whales weigh an average of 800 to 1600 kg. Whales do not have a dorsal fin, and their necks and vertebrae are connected in a way that is more like other mammals, unlike dolphins and whales. The abdomen is white with many dark brown or black spots on the back. The skin of a horned whale is very dark at birth, and as it ages, the skin becomes whiter and whiter, and by sexual maturity, many white patches appear on the abdomen, and the body color of the older horned whale is almost white, so it may be confused with beluga whales. The most striking feature of the horned whale is the tusks protruding from their heads, which are canine teeth protruding from the left upper jaw, which can reach 2 to 3 meters in length and are spiral-shaped, so named because they look like horns. In addition to fighting, the teeth are also a symbol of its status in the family, and the longer and thicker the teeth of the narwhal, the higher its status in the whale group.
Horned whales are mainly found in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, with most concentrated in the bays and inlets of northern Canada and western Greenland. They are deep divers, foraging at depths in the oceans, preying on benthic organisms in the winter, especially flounder living under thick ice, and feeding mainly on Arctic cod, flounder and some other fish in the summer.
The head of the whale is small and round, the beak is inconspicuous, the forehead is protruding, and it is slightly upturned in front of the mouth. The neck moves freely, with a few traces of neck folding. The pectoral fin is dark grey, small and broad, but shorter in length, with the end of the pectoral fin curved upwards (the end bends upwards with age). There is no dorsal fin, but there is a low fleshy bulge in the posterior half of the dorsal area. The back and body sides are mottled. The abdomen is paler or whiter in color. The absence of a central part of the caudal fin is obvious; the anterior edge of the caudal fin becomes more concave with age, and the posterior edge becomes more prominent outward with age.
narwhal
The body color of a horned whale changes significantly with age, and the newborns are speckled gray or brownish gray. It is uniformly purple-gray at 1 to 2 years of age; white patches appear during puberty; adult whales have black or dark brown patches on a gray background; and older whales are almost completely white.
Adult tusks are snow-white at the ends and are usually smoothly ground. The tusks are mostly hollow and fragile. Adult horned whales come in two forms of tusks:
Single teeth
The tusks penetrate the upper lip and spiral counterclockwise (from the root). Almost all of the tusks grow out of the teeth on the left side of the palate, with an average length of 2 meters and a maximum of 3 meters. The base of the tusks can have a circumference of up to 30 cm and a weight of up to 10 kg. About 3% of female whales develop a slender long horn, which rarely exceeds 1.2 meters in length.
Size measurement: adult head to tail length of 4 to 5 meters, weight 800 ~ 1600 kg. Male teeth are 150 to 267 cm long.