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Narwhal
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{{Short description|Medium-sized toothed whale species}} {{Other uses}} {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{Good article}} {{Use British English|date=May 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Speciesbox | name = Narwhal | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Quaternary|Present}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newton |first=Edwin Tulley |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.57425 |title=The Vertebrata of the Pliocene deposits of Britain |date=1891 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London |doi=10.5962/bhl.title.57425}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Monodon monoceros Linnaeus 1758 (narhwal) |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=64546&is_real_user=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712051049/https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=64546&is_real_user=1 |archive-date=12 July 2020 |access-date=11 July 2020 |website=PBDB.org}}</ref> | image = Нарвал в российской Арктике.jpg | image2 = Narwhal_size.svg | image2_caption = Size compared to an average human | image2_alt = Diagram showing a narwhal and scuba diver from the side: the body of the whale is about three times longer than a [[human]]. | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="IUCN2017">{{cite iucn|last1=Lowry|first1=L.|last2=Laidre|first2=K.|last3=Reeves|first3=R.|title=''Monodon monoceros''|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T13704A50367651.en|year=2017}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A2 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref name="CITES">{{Cite web |title=Appendices {{!}} CITES |url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205014647/https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php |archive-date=5 December 2017 |access-date=14 January 2022 |website=cites.org}}</ref> | display_parents = 2 | genus = Monodon | parent_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]] | species = monoceros | authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]] | range_map = Monodon monoceros distribution map.svg | range_map_caption = Distribution of narwhal populations | range_map_upright = 0.7 }} The '''narwhal''' ('''''Monodon monoceros''''') is a [[species]] of [[toothed whale]] native to the [[Arctic]]. It is the only member of the [[genus]] '''''Monodon''''' and one of two living representatives of the family [[Monodontidae]]. The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a relatively blunt snout, a large [[Melon (whale)|melon]], and a shallow ridge in place of a [[dorsal fin]]. Males of this species have a large ({{cvt|1.5|-|3.0|m}}) long [[tusk]], which is a protruding left [[Canine tooth|canine]] thought to function as a weapon, a tool for feeding, in [[sexual selection|attracting mates]] or sensing water salinity. Specially adapted [[slow-twitch muscle]]s, along with the jointed neck vertebrae and shallow dorsal ridge allow for easy movement through the Arctic environment, where the narwhal spends extended periods at great depths. The narwhal's geographic range overlaps with that of the similarly built and closely related [[beluga whale]], and the animals are known to [[interbreed]]. Narwhals inhabit the [[Arctic waters]] of Canada, Greenland and Russia. Every year, they [[seasonal migration|migrate]] to ice-free summering grounds, usually in shallow waters, and often [[Philopatry|return]] to the same sites in subsequent years. Their diet mainly consists of [[Arctogadus glacialis|polar]] and [[Boreogadus saida|Arctic cod]], [[Greenland halibut]], [[cuttlefish]], [[shrimp]], and [[armhook squid]]. Diving to depths of up to {{cvt|2370|m}}, the narwhal is among the deepest-diving [[cetacean]]s. The animals typically travel in groups of three to eight, with aggregations of up to 1,000 occurring in the summer months. Narwhals mate among the offshore [[pack ice]] from March to May, and the young are born between July and August of the following year. When communicating amongst themselves, narwhals use a variety of clicks, whistles and knocks. There are an estimated 170,000 living narwhals, and the species is listed as being of [[least concern]] by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN). The population is threatened by the [[effects of climate change]], such as [[Arctic warming|reduction in ice cover]] and human activities such as [[pollution]] and [[hunting]]. Narwhals have been hunted for thousands of years by [[Inuit]] in northern Canada and Greenland for [[Whale meat|meat]] and [[ivory]], and regulated subsistence hunting continues to this day.
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