Narwhal - Taxonomy and Etymology

Taxonomy and Etymology

The narwhal was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae. Its name is derived from the Old Norse word nár, meaning "corpse", in reference to the animal's greyish, mottled pigmentation, like that of a drowned sailor. The scientific name, Monodon monoceros, is derived from Greek: "one-tooth one-horn" or "one-toothed unicorn".

The narwhal is most closely related to the beluga whale. Together, these two species comprise the only extant members of the Monodontidae family, sometimes referred to as the "white whales". The Monodontidae are distinguished by medium size (at around 4 m (13 ft) in length), forehead melons, short snouts, and the absence of a true dorsal fin. The white whales, dolphins (Delphinidae) and porpoises (Phocoenidae) together comprise the Delphinoidea superfamily, which are of likely monophyletic origin. Genetic evidence suggests the porpoises are more closely related to the white whales, and that these two families constitute a separate clade which diverged from the Delphinoidea within the past 11 million years.