New York Times - Cuvier’s beaked whales - "These pointy-snouted cetaceans, which frequent the world’s deep waters, have clocked the longest and deepest dives of any marine mammal ever recorded, plunging nearly 10,000 feet below the surface of the sea."

 

Don’t try holding your breath this long. Cuvier’s beaked whales are remarkable divers, clocking the longest and deepest dives of any marine mammal. Scientists recently recorded the whales’ most impressive descent to date: 3 hours and 42 minutes. For context, one free (human) diver made the Guinness Book of World Records for going more than 24 minutes without coming up for air. Scientists still don’t know how the beaked whales — which can grow up to around 5,000 pounds and 20 feet in length — go so long without air. Their unique physiology, possibly, allows them to regulate oxygen levels. “They’re not supposed to be able to do this,” one researcher said, “but they do.”