Scientists confirmed this week that a new breath-holding record was recently set by a Cuvier's beaked whale, according to Reuters.
By using satellite-lined tags, scientists were able to track a number of the medium-sized whales as they dove around 1.9 miles and spent two hours and 17 minutes underwater before resurfacing.
The figure represents both the longest and deepest dives ever documented for any marine mammal, according to Greg Schorr of the Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington, who led the study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
"Many creatures live at the depths these whales dive to, including their likely primary prey of squid and fish. However, there is a major difference between these whales and the other creatures living deep in the ocean, the fundamental requirement to breathe air at the surface," Schorr said, according to Reuters.
"Taking a breath at the surface and holding it while diving to pressures over 250 times that at the surface is an astounding feat," Schorr added.
In comparison, the record for a person holding his breath underwater is 22 minutes, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Cuvier's beaked whales measure up to around 23 feet long, with stout bodies shaped like a torpedo.
The whale's foreheads slope into a short beak with an upturned mouth, making it seem like they're smiling. Their color ranges from gray to white to reddish-brown, according to Reuters.
"This species is highly adapted to deep diving, spending less than two minutes at the surface between dives," Schorr said. "These are social, warm-blooded mammals that have adapted to actively pursue their prey at astounding depths - all while up to 1.8 miles away from their most basic physiological need: air."
The scientists used satellite-linked tags that provided data on the start and end times of a dive and the maximum depth of each dive.
The tags were attached to the dorsal fin using two titanium darts, according to Reuters.
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