Sperm Whale

The twelfth whale of this series is Physeter macrocephalus: largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. The fictional white whale Moby Dick in the novel is of this species, and is based on the real-life male sperm whale Mocha Dick, who lived in the Pacific Ocean in the early 19th century, usually encountered in the waters near Mocha Island, off the central coast of Chile. Sperm whales can live 70 years or more.