noun

• A small Arctic whale, the male of which has a long forward-pointing spirally twisted tusk developed from one of its teeth.

  Monodon monoceros, family Monodontidae

  ‘Dolphins and porpoises are examples of odontocetes, as are belugas, narwhals, killer whales, sperm whales, and beaked whales.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Polar bears are seagoing hunters that roam vast areas of the Arctic, pursuing a movable feast of seals, narwhals, beluga whales, and walruses.’
  • ‘For centuries observers have been fascinated and mystified by the majestic spiral tusk grown by the small Arctic whale known as the narwhal.’
  • ‘Furthermore, unlike the curved teeth of elephants and warthogs, the narwhal tooth is nature's only straight tusk.’
  • ‘The Antarctic lacks small resident toothed whales like the beluga and the narwhal of the Arctic.’
  • ‘The tusk of narwhals is found only in males; the teeth of females remain imbedded in their jaws.’
  • ‘The tusk of whale or narwhal is spirally curved, and can measure up to 2.5 m in length.’
  • ‘‘The extraordinary tusk of the narwhal has fascinated and puzzled scientists for hundreds of years,’ according to the expedition's Web site.’
  • ‘Strictly speaking, the term should be applied only to the tusks of elephants, although a wider definition includes the teeth of the hippo, narwhal whale and the walrus.’
  • ‘The tusked narwhal, white beluga whales and elusive bowhead whale all live off the northern part of this island.’
  • ‘This learned history of the Far North probes the lives of narwhals, belugas, polar bears, humans, and other life forms that have eked out a living in this dazzling, difficult land.’
  • ‘Occasionally they even pluck a walrus, beluga whale, or narwhal from the watery depths below the pack ice.’
  • ‘The narwhal is a smaller whale that lives most of its life north of the Arctic Circle.’
  • ‘Aquatic mammals that live in the waters off the coast include walrus, ringed seals, bearded seals, beluga, narwhal, and various other whales.’
  • ‘A dive was defined as submergence below 8 m, and the surface was defined as above 9 m, following sampling schemes also used for narwhals and belugas.’
  • ‘In fact it was a narwhal tusk, or possibly rhinoceros horn.’
  • ‘The fjords around Ammassalik Island are brimming with narwhals, seals, ermine, arctic wolves and dozens of other cold-comfort creatures.’
  • ‘His narwhal tusks stand in the attic near a loose pile of taxidermic heads.’
  • ‘The exhibit, showcasing such images as kayaks, walruses, seals and narwhal, reflects the close relationship between Inuit and water.’
  • ‘A great white shark with a narwhal horn and legs seems to be attacking the glass.’