Narwhal
Narwhal
Mammal
A medium-sized whale known for the male's long, spiraled tusk.
💡 Fun Facts
- The tusk is actually an overgrown canine tooth with millions of nerve endings.
- They are known as the 'unicorns of the sea'.
- They can dive over a mile deep and hold their breath for 25 minutes.
Name Story
Monodon monoceros
means “the one-toothed unicorn — the 'corpse-whale'”
What does its name mean?
- Monodon — one-toothGreek (monos, 'single' + odous, 'tooth')
- monoceros — one-horn (a unicorn)Greek (monos, 'single' + keras, 'horn')
- narwhal — corpse-whaleOld Norse (nár, 'corpse' + hvalr, 'whale')
Its Latin name means "one-tooth, one-horn", because the narwhal's famous spiralling "horn" is really a single giant tooth. Its spooky English name means "corpse-whale", given for its pale, blotchy, greyish skin — and long ago, these tusks were sold as magical unicorn horns.