Ocean field note
A tooth that senses the sea
The Unicorn of the Sea
A narwhal's long, spiraled tusk isn't a horn at all β it's actually a giant tooth, longer than a grown-up is tall, packed with nerve endings that can sense the water around it.
Let's look closer
Wonder traits
- Animal group
- Mammal
- Diet
- Meat eater
- Habitat
- OceanIce & snow
- Size
- Car-sized
- Abilities
- Super senses
Let's look closer
How can a tooth outside its mouth help a narwhal feel anything?
illions of tiny nerve channels run from the surface of the tusk all the way to its core, letting the narwhal detect changes in water temperature and saltiness as it swims. The spiraled tusk is actually an overgrown front tooth that grows out through the narwhal's upper lip, almost always on the left side. Scientists are still studying exactly how narwhals use this unusual sense out in the icy Arctic seas.
Look for this
Explorer clue
Watch a video of narwhals surfacing together between patches of Arctic sea ice.
Your turn to wonder
Curiosity question
If one part of your body could sense the world in a brand new way, what would you want it to feel?
Keep wandering
