Matt Fact #12
The subject of today's Matt Fact is the Humpback Whale - (Megaptera novaeangliae) - remarkable creatures for any number of reasons. The most-studied species of whale, they really are fascinating creatures in all sorts of ways. Highly intelligent social animals, they are able to identify each other as individuals over distances of thousands of miles, just by the sound of each other's song. They learn quickly, and adapt to their surroundings. They self-regulate their breeding in direct relation to the amount of available food for their young - if there isn't enough food, they don't breed. Simple as that. All pretty widely known, and therefore not much use as a Matt Fact.
On the other hand, the distinctive nodules that cover the surface of their bodies really are interesting. These innocent looking lumps are, in fact, due to a startling symbiotic relationship Humpbacks have with a particular species of parasite. A type of sea-louse, the tiny bug burrows into the skin of the whale to lay its eggs - the resulting lump remaining long after the eggs have hatched. At this point, you may be asking yourself - what does the whale get out of this? Now that really is interesting.
As you will no doubt already know, all whales have extremely poor eyesight, finding their way mostly by echo-location - sonar in effect. What Humpbacks have learnt to do, however, is identify individuals amongst a family pod by the shape of the nodules on their skin. In much the same way that vision impaired humans "read" braille by running their fingers over a series of bumps, the whales can scan through a number of individuals with their sonar and "read" the bumps like an identification tag. Remarkable indeed.
On the other hand, the distinctive nodules that cover the surface of their bodies really are interesting. These innocent looking lumps are, in fact, due to a startling symbiotic relationship Humpbacks have with a particular species of parasite. A type of sea-louse, the tiny bug burrows into the skin of the whale to lay its eggs - the resulting lump remaining long after the eggs have hatched. At this point, you may be asking yourself - what does the whale get out of this? Now that really is interesting.
As you will no doubt already know, all whales have extremely poor eyesight, finding their way mostly by echo-location - sonar in effect. What Humpbacks have learnt to do, however, is identify individuals amongst a family pod by the shape of the nodules on their skin. In much the same way that vision impaired humans "read" braille by running their fingers over a series of bumps, the whales can scan through a number of individuals with their sonar and "read" the bumps like an identification tag. Remarkable indeed.