Short answers, pulled from the story.
Primitive cetaceans known as archaeocetes first entered the sea approximately 49 million years ago. These early creatures retained visible legs and asymmetrical teeth while adapting their hearing to channel vibrations from the jaw directly to the earbone.
Today, the closest living relatives of these marine giants remain the hippopotamuses. This lineage split from hippopotamuses around fifty-four million years ago creating two distinct paths in the mammalian tree of life.
Their bodies contain twice the concentration of myoglobin compared to hemoglobin to store oxygen efficiently in muscle tissue. Sperm whales demonstrate extreme diving capabilities by staying underwater for up to 90 minutes at a time using specialized physiological mechanisms that slow their heart rate.
Whale defecation occurs at the ocean's surface creating liquid excrement rich in iron and nitrogen that phytoplankton consume. Nitrogen input from these events in the Gulf of Maine exceeds the combined total of all rivers emptying into the gulf annually.
In 1853 United States profits reached $11 million equivalent to roughly $348 million today marking the most profitable year for the American industry. Commercial operations involved ships from Britain France Spain Denmark the Netherlands and Germany sometimes collaborating or competing even leading to war.