spermaceti

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spermaceti

spermaceti , solid waxy substance, white, odorless, and tasteless, separated from the oils obtained from the sperm whale (see sperm oil ) and other marine mammals. A mixture of esters of fatty acids, it is composed chiefly of cetyl palmitate. Spermaceti is insoluble in water and does not putrefy. It is used mostly in ointments and cosmetics and in fine candles and was widely employed formerly as the waterproofing medium for oilskins.

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spermaceti

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Â© A Dictionary of Zoology 1999, originally published by Oxford University Press 1999. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

spermaceti Highly vascular tissue, filled with a mixture of fatty esters (oils) which solidify at about 32°C, produced by Physeteridae (sperm whales) and stored in the upper part of an enlarged snout. A full-grown sperm whale may carry one tonne of spermaceti. The function of spermaceti is not known with certainty, but since its density changes as it liquefies and solidifies it may permit heat loss from the body and help provide neutral buoyancy to the animal, and it may contribute to the production of the sounds by which the animal echo-locates.

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spermaceti

A Dictionary of Ecology | 2004 | | Â© A Dictionary of Ecology 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

spermaceti Highly vascular tissue, filled with a mixture of fatty esters (oils) which solidify at about 32°C, produced by sperm whales (Physeteridae) and stored in the upper part of an enlarged snout. A full-grown sperm whale may carry one tonne of spermaceti. The function of spermaceti is not known with certainty, but since its density changes as it liquefies and solidifies it may permit heat loss from the body and help provide neutral buoyancy to the animal, and it may contribute to the production of the sounds by which the animal echolocates.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "spermaceti." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "spermaceti." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved December 01, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-spermaceti.html

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