The term divergens in Latin means "turning apart", referring to their tusks. Tusks can occur in pairs as in elephants or as a single protruding tooth as in narwhals. [76] The meat, often preserved, is an important winter nutrition source; the flippers are fermented and stored as a delicacy until spring; tusks and bone were historically used for tools, as well as material for handicrafts; the oil was rendered for warmth and light; the tough hide made rope and house and boat coverings; and the intestines and gut linings made waterproof parkas. They are… Read More Early aerial censuses of Pacific walrus conducted at five-year intervals between 1975 and 1985 estimated populations of above 220,000 in each of the three surveys. The tusks function mainly in mating display and in defense against other walrus. Although the size and color are similar to ivory tusks found in the wildlife trade, these bone “tusks… True ivory walrus tusks can be hard to come by; and as of July 2011, those that are legally sold can be worth as little as $100 or in some forms as much as $50,000. Several place names in Iceland, Greenland and Norway may originate from walrus sites: Hvalfjord, Hvallatrar and Hvalsnes to name some, all being typical walrus breeding grounds. [15] From there, it presumably recolonized the North Pacific Ocean during high glaciation periods in the Pleistocene via the Central American Seaway. ][citation needed] Compare морж (morž) in Russian, mursu in Finnish, morša in Northern Saami, and morse in French. walrus Most of the dated archaeological finds are bone or tusk fragments, but a few are artefacts made of walrus tusk. Pair of fake ivory tusks (made of bone) as received in a shipment. Hence, less sea ice means fewer, crowded resting spaces and further away from their feeding grounds. Luckily, both male and female walruses have tusks. They are… Read More Typically, the length of female walrus tusks is similar to a male but the base is more round than oval, say 4 cm (1.5") diameter, and the weight runs 0.5 to 1.0 kg (1 to 2 lbs.) Tusks also come in handy for scraping up food or helping to pull the animals up onto land or ice. Walrus teeth are also commercially carved and traded. As of July 2011, the Chichester Group, based in Canada, has a wide variety of ivory walrus tusks for sale on its website, ranging in price from $185 to $375 each. Bow waves, whiskers, and nostrils and flashing tusks. [4] A 28,000-year-old fossil walrus was dredged up from the bottom of San Francisco Bay, indicating that Pacific walruses ranged that far south during the last Ice Age. The species name rosmarus is Scandinavian. The mothers nurse for over a year before weaning, but the young can spend up to five years with the mothers. [24] Tusks were once thought to be used to dig out prey from the seabed, but analyses of abrasion patterns on the tusks indicate they are dragged through the sediment while the upper edge of the snout is used for digging. [32], The rest of the year (late summer and fall), walruses tend to form massive aggregations of tens of thousands of individuals on rocky beaches or outcrops. Walrus Tusks can be used to craft the Walking Cane and Brush at an Alchemy Engine. [10], The coincidental similarity between morse and the Latin word morsus ("a bite") supposedly contributed to the walrus's reputation as a "terrible monster". Narwhal tusks. [4] Walruses live mostly in shallow waters above the continental shelves, spending significant amounts of their lives on the sea ice looking for benthic bivalve mollusks to eat. Are you looking for more answers, or do you have a question for other crossword enthusiasts? O. rosmarus laptevi (debated). The blubber layer beneath is up to 15 cm (6 in) thick. Although the size and color are similar to ivory tusks found in the wildlife trade, these bone “tusks… [4], Walruses live to about 20–30 years old in the wild. [81], The effects of global climate change are another element of concern. The Norwegian manuscript Konungsskuggsja, thought to date from around AD 1240, refers to the walrus as "rosmhvalr" in Iceland and "rostungr" in Greenland (walruses were by now extinct in Iceland and Norway, while the word evolved in Greenland). Genuine scrimshaw or authentic ivory walrus tusks that have such carvings on them, can be worth thousands of dollars. [62] There have been isolated observations of walruses preying on seals up to the size of a 200 kg (440 lb) bearded seal. The maximal number of teeth is 38 with dentition formula: 3.1.4.23.1.3.2, but over half of the teeth are rudimentary and occur with less than 50% frequency, such that a typical dentition includes only 18 teeth 1.1.3.00.1.3.0[4], Surrounding the tusks is a broad mat of stiff bristles ("mystacial vibrissae"), giving the walrus a characteristic whiskered appearance. The origin of the word walrus is thought by J.R.R. Pakak watches as the mold is made for his new tusk cap. They winter over in the Bering Sea along the eastern coast of Siberia south to the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, and along the southern coast of Alaska. In late spring and summer, for example, several hundred thousand Pacific walruses migrate from the Bering Sea into the Chukchi Sea through the relatively narrow Bering Strait. Genuine scrimshaw or authentic ivory walrus tusks that have such carvings on them, can be worth thousands of dollars. Contrary to this popular legend, Washington’s false teeth were composed of materials like elephant ivory, walrus tusks, hippopotamus bones and human teeth; with fixtures of … Walruses prefer feeding at the bottom of shallow waters, eating clams, molluscs, worms, snails, crustaceans and sea cucumbers. [11] Recent multigene analysis indicates the odobenids and otariids diverged from the phocids about 20–26 million years ago, while the odobenids and the otariids separated 15–20 million years ago. They can remain submerged for as long as half an hour. They do not only use tusks in fighting or defending—walruses show tusks to enforce their sheer dominance within the group. The walrus hunt also offers a strong bonding experience for members of the community. [80] The sustainability of these levels of harvest is difficult to determine given uncertain population estimates and parameters such as fecundity and mortality. The Boone and Crockett Big Game Record book has entries for Atlantic and Pacific walrus. [60] The walrus sucks the meat out by sealing its powerful lips to the organism and withdrawing its piston-like tongue rapidly into its mouth, creating a vacuum. [55], Even though walruses can dive to depths beyond 500 meters, they spend most of their time in shallow waters (and the nearby ice floes) hunting for food. He rarely uses this though. [79] Several hundred are removed annually around Greenland. However, vision in this species appears to be more suited for short-range. The current population of these walruses has been estimated to be between 5,000 and 10,000. [87][88], Walrus ivory masks made by Yupik in Alaska, John Tenniel's illustration for Lewis Carroll's poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter", Dutch explorers fight a walrus on the coast of Novaya Zemlya, 1596. 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