Subject: The Sperm Whale brain

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On Sun, 8 Nov 1998, Jeanette Yorba wrote:

> 
> Hi,
> 
> I am a student at CSU Staninlaus in California. I was wondering if you
> could help me find the demensions of a Sperm Whales brain.  I have only
> been able to find the weight.
> 
> Thanks for your time,
> 
> Jeanette Yorba
> 
> 
> 
Dear Jeanette,

I too was unable to find the dimensions of the sperm whale brain.
However, I did find a couple of facts:
1.  The sperm whale brain weighs 7.8 kg (17 lbs 3 oz) and is the largest
brain known.
2.  The skull condylobasal length is 25% of the body length.  In males the
body length is 18.5m, females 12.5.

I found a diagram of the sperm whale brain in the following reference on
page 108:

Bonner, Nigel.  1989.  Whales of the World (book)

You may be able to find more references from that book.

Good luck!

Bete

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