OceanMarine Mammals
Ambergris forms in a sperm whale's gut and is found floating or washed up on beaches.
It held perfume to the skin so well that lumps of it have sold for more than their weight in gold.
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This fact is part of the pack Everything Was Once a Whale. Read the pack
More ocean facts
Ocean facts from a place we have mapped less thoroughly than Mars. A male anglerfish merges with his mate for good, there are lakes at the bottom of the ocean, and below about 8,400 metres there are no fish at all. Each fact links to its source.
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- The finest candles were pressed from spermaceti, the waxy oil filling a sperm whale's head.
- A sperm whale's click is the loudest sound any animal makes, and it is produced by a nose.
- A narwhal's tusk is a single tooth grown out through the lip, and it is porous, with millions of nerve endings reaching the surface.