Why are sperm whales called sperm whales?

Porpoises. 1. Sperm Whales Are Not True Whales Because They Have True Teeth And NOT Baleen. 2. Sperm Whales Do NOT Eat Krill Or Shrimps, They Mainly Eat Squid And Fish, They Might Even Eat Sharks. 3. Sperm Whales Have A Head Nothing Like A Baleen Whale And It Cannot Fit Baleen Into It's Mouth. 4. read more

Sperm whale" is an apocopation of Spermaceti Whale. Spermaceti is the semi-liquid, waxy substance found in the animal's head. The name derives from the late Latin sperma ceti (both words loaned from Greek) meaning "sperm of the whale" (strictly, "sperm of the sea monster"), as people mistook the substance for the whale's semen. read more

The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) or cachalot / ˈ k æ ʃ ə ˌ l ɒ t, ˈ k æ ʃ ə ˌ l oʊ / is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia. read more