The Evolutionary Significance of the Narwhal’s “Tusk”
Apr 25, 2014 · Based on the discovery of broken tusk fragments and scarring, it can be inferred that male narwhals use their tusk in an aggressive fashion in order to assert sexual dominance and eventually find a mate.
Video Solves Mystery of How Narwhals Use Their Tusks - National …
May 12, 2017 · Behavior captured for the first time on camera shows narwhals using the long tusks protruding from their heads to stun Arctic cod by hitting them, using jagged, quick movements.
How the Narwhal Got Its Tusk - Smithsonian
Aug 7, 2017 · According to myths collected among the Inuit in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the narwhal was once a woman with long hair that she had twisted and plaited to resemble a tusk.
The Enduring Mysteries of the Narwhal's Tusk - JSTOR Daily
Jun 8, 2018 · Broken tusks are common. Adding to the confusion, early researchers examining broken tusks found what appeared to be pieces of other tusks crammed into the broken tusk. These observations led to suggestions that males were somehow cooperating to plug each other’s broken tusks.
Why a Tusk? The real-life unicorns of the sea and the tusks that …
The narwhal tusk—the unique, spiraled tooth that protrudes out of the upper lip— is a source of debate and discussion. Tales of tusks being used for breaking ice, spearing fish, and digging along the seabed were once considered plausible explanations.
This Never-Before-Seen Footage Reveals The Violent Purpose of …
May 15, 2017 · Drone footage has captured something no one's ever seen before - wild narwhals using their bizarre tusks to hunt Arctic cod by hitting and stunning them, making them easier to consume. We've cracked the secret of the unicorn whales.
Video reveals clue to the mystery of the narwhal tusk
May 12, 2017 · Recent research suggests that the tusk has thousands of nerve endings, as well as pores that allow narwhals to sense the environment around them. Every summer, the nutrient-rich waters of Canada’s Lancaster Sound host more than 80,000 narwhals, three quarters of the world’s population.
Unicorns of the sea: Why do narwhals have tusks?
Projecting straight forward rather than downwards from an otherwise toothless mouth, it emerges through the top lip, twisting anticlockwise as it grows. Without it, a 6m-long whale would be a 4m-long whale. No wonder narwhals’ tusks were long prized and traded as unicorn horns.
Discovering Whales - The Narwhal
Scars attributed to tusk action have been found on the heads of adult males which are more likely to have broken tusks. The Narwhal shares many physical characteristics with the Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas).
Narwhal - Save The Whales
Many old males have been noted with broken tusks; the broken shaft of one narwhal was found to contain the tusk of another whale. During the Middle Ages, the narwhal tusk was believed to be unicorn horn.